A westbound Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern train negotiates the hills and curves of western Minnesota between Balaton and Florence on a blustery first day of spring.

Back on home rails, RCPE's Mankato to Aurora train flies through the frozen prairie on this cold winter evening just west of Balaton.

The engineer of this eastbound Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern train opens the throttle again as it prepares to climb another hill through Balaton, MN.

An eastbound Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern train negotiates some curves and hills as it crosses Minnesota State Highway 91 west of Balaton, MN.

RCPE 3423 has crested the grade and heads West past MP 244 on their way to Aurora.

A quartet of SD40-2s prepare to roll under highway 14 on their way towards Tracy.

RCPE's Tracy turn is headed back west again passing the old grain elevator in Balaton MN.

A westbound RCPE train briefly disturbs a peaceful summer evening in the small town of Balaton, MN.

An eastbound Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern train briefly skirts alongside Lake Yankton as it passes the home of someone who clearly has an affinity for the railroad, evidenced by the Griswold signa... (more)

An eastbound Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern train crosses an irrigation ditch west of Balaton, MN as the sun poke through the cloud cover.

A Saturday regular, the M-MNAU train out of Mankato, MN is back on home rails and is headed to Florence to tie down, but not before passing under highway 14 at Balaton, MN

My first chance to shoot an RCPE train on the move with RCPE power. After waiting in Tracy for a fresh crew since the morning of the previous day, the Tracy to Huron manifest is underway and doin... (more)

On my firs trip to the DM&E since mid March, i was greeted with three trains at Florence. Unfortunately the first train, a BNSF grain shuttle, ate up most of the morning being handed back over to ... (more)

After sitting most of the day waiting for a crew in Tracy, today's 277 gets underway just as the light was getting good. Though not a fan of leasers, three in a group don't look too bad in my boo... (more)