The westbound RCPE train from the Union Pacific interchange in Mankato to Aurora, SD rolls by the old elevator at Essig, MN on a beautiful fall evening.

An eastbound train descends the grade into the Minnesota River valley just west of North Redwood, MN, passing the Central Bi-Products facility along the way.

Milwaukee Road 261 leads the North Pole Express equipment through Seventh Street, as they head for Saint Paul Union Depot. https://261.com/npe/

Leaving Proctor yard behind and heading down to CN's dock 6 to unload ballpark 15,000 tons of taconite pellets.

After coming down from United Taconite with 138 cars of taconite pellets to Proctor, a yard crew has now brought the train down to the CN ore dock 6 and begins to unload.

A single engine and four cars wait to depart BNSF and head back to their own yard on Rices Point in Duluth. Trains are small in the grand view of things.

Coming and going. Pushing a sand train up the CN Missabe sub is a very new CN 3348 while a very old DMIR 404 waits in the siding with the crew giving the roll-by. Ironically or coincidently, thes... (more)

BN 9859 (Passenger number), an SDP45, is seen in freight service at Minneapolis' Harrison St. roundhouse. With the creation of Amtrak, BN was quick to pull SDP40s & 45s off passenger trains and mo... (more)

Pushing a northbound container train heading for the Canadian border is a CN locomotive not wearing CN colors.

Slowing for a meet with a northbound freight at Kelsey, a trio of BLE SD40T-3s hold back 138 ore cars of taconite pellets and head for the siding to clear the main before they resume the southboun... (more)

As the blue hour turns towards the dark of night, several power set and trains wait for assignments and crews to take them where they need to go. But for now, all is quiet at Proctor yard.

BN 6254, former CBQ SD24 no. 514, built May 1959, shows off its BN scheme complete with former Burlington Mars lights at Harrison Street roundhouse, Minneapolis.

On duty at 0200 at Proctor, this crew departed the yard and ran up the Missabe sub. with their trio of BLE motors and 138 ore cars for loading here at United Taconite. It's now 1000 and traffic ha... (more)

BN 986 rests at Harrison St. next to the roundhouse in Minneapolis. The former GN NW5 along with NW2s and Alco S-2 switchers were among the oldest power inherited by BN when the merger occurred in... (more)

Light engines pass along the Mississippi River as seen from Mounds Park.