The tri-weekly Mankato to Aurora manifest makes its way west through the scenic Buffalo Ridge at Lake Benton.

Westbound RCPE near Courtland, Minnesota on its run from Mankato, MN to Aurora, SD.

Finally out of the slow orders, MNAU gains some speed as it heads through the vibrant southwestern Minnesota farmland.

Late in the afternoon, RCPE's Mankato to Aurora train makes its way through the rolling hills of the Buffalo Ridge in Lake Benton. Though it may look like a typical summer day in this photo, the w... (more)

A westbound RCPE train rolls through the hills of the Buffalo Ridge south of Lake Benton, MN. It used to require a good deal of luck to get a train out here in daylight, but with this train regula... (more)

With a rail train that was picked up in Mankato, MN, a pair of RCP&E SD40-2s have everything under control as they traverse the hills and curves that seem to be common on this part of the map.

With rail bound for points west, a pair of well worn SD40-2's snake their way out of the valley just south of Lake Benton, MN.

Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern's tri-weekly train from the Union Pacific at Mankato, MN to Aurora, SD crosses the Redwood River and climbs toward the Minnesota State Highway 23 and BNSF Marshall Sub... (more)

With plenty of cars on this day, the grade profile of this section of track is exemplified well as the tri-weekly Mankato to Aurora train crawls its way west on the Huron Sub.

MNAU slithers its way west through the southwestern Minnesota prairie on the home stretch to Aurora, SD. The portion of the run between Balaton and Lake Benton has a lot of cool spots, and this wa... (more)

A westbound RCPE train is seen passing one of the large wind turbines that are found throughout southwest Minnesota. Pictures don't really do justice to how massive these structures are.

The westbound tri-weekly Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern train that brings traffic from the Union Pacific in Mankato, MN to Aurora, SD is nearly on home rails as it will soon leave CPKC's Tracy Subdi... (more)

The hills of the Buffalo Ridge make for a scenic setting as a westbound RCPE train rounds a curve just south of Lake Benton, MN.

A little exhaust erupts from a trio of SD40-2s as the engineer opens the throttle to climb another hill just east of Tyler on the former CNW across southern Minnesota.

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.