Railfans of all ages gathered in the Verndale city park for Verndale Rail 2012 exchange a friendly greeting with the conductor of a westbound stack train on BNSF's busy former NP mainline. The annual (since 2009) gathering is the brainchild of Chris Muller, rp.net contributor and moderator of the outstateminnesotarail Yahoo group. It's a highlight of the year for many area railfans and the 2012 version certainly did not disappoint. Over 30 railfans from as far away as Illinois, Iowa, and Canada gathered to enjoy lots of food, friends, and trains.