Due to a combination of a harsh winter, booming oil industry, and aggressive trackwork, Amtrak's Prized train, the Empire Builder detours over the KO Sub. While the eastbound train 8 still uses i... (more)

The sun is beginning to set on a beautiful winter day in North Dakota as an eastbound oil train crosses high over Lake Ashtabula near Luverne.

After enduring a long afternoon of waiting, the railroad had finally come to life in the evening hours, giving me some good shots of the bridge at Luverne. The only thing keeping me standing amon... (more)

With the sun set, the wind died down, and Lake Ashtabula provided a nice reflection for one more westbound on the Luverne bridge.

The sun finally sank below the hillside on a long summer day, providing a nice silhouette of a tree and another eastbound oil train on the bridge at Luverne.

The sun finally crept over to the north side of the Luverne bridge as it neared the horizon. With a small window of opportunity before the bridge would be in shadow, my hopes sank as an eastbound... (more)

The Deadliest Catch guys sometime say "stick and stay and make it pay." That's what I did on Monday at Luverne. After waiting in the sun with seemingly every insect on the hillside trying to eat... (more)

Eastbound oil loads soar across Lake Ashtabula on the BNSF's ex-Great Northern Surrey Cutoff between Minot and Fargo.

A long hike along frozen Lake Ashtabula gives a good vista of an eastbound Z train crossing the impressive former Great Northern bridge west of Luverne.

After a healthy hike on the frozen lake, I made it around the bend and found a spot that I visited when the weather was a tiny bit warmer. The parade of oil continues out of North Dakota.

A westbound empty unit tank train crosses Lake Ashtabula in nice evening light, seen from beneath one of my favorite trees. Here's the summertime view: Railroad: BNSF Railway
Locomotive: GE ES44AC
Location: Luverne, North Dakota, USA
Locomotive #: BNSF 6208
Train ID: Unknown
Photo Date: February 23, 2013

Seen from frozen Lake Ashtabula, an eastbound zipper rushes across BNSF's large bridge west of Luverne.

The view from the surface of Lake Ashtabula on a perfect February afternoon as an eastbound crude oil train soars overhead. Days like this make enduring winters on the northern plains worthwhile.

Thanks to Bryant, we made the choice to hike out onto the lake and use the bridge to our advantage. As the sun starts to sag, a loaded oil train heads east over the two foot thick ice.

An eastbound priority intermodal train quickly crosses the Luverne trestle as I try to figure out how many animals have already been in my spot this winter...