The bell tolls... the last remaining F units are off property of the former Erie Mining Company. This is the only time to my knowledge these engines had been off property since 1956. It is the end... (more)

The bell tolls... the last remaining F units are off property of the former Erie Mining Company. This is the only time to my knowledge these engines had been off property since 1956. It truly is t... (more)

Its a shame to see historic engines rotting away isn't it? We try to avoid that. The sprawl of Canal Park and Eastern Duluth can be seen behind the train as it winds its way through West Duluth. H... (more)

Back in 2013 our normal second engine for coal trains, DM&IR #316, was down with electrical issues. Here we the DMIR #193 lugging 122 empties into Rices Point Yard with all the billboards and sigh... (more)

All is quiet now, as a few passerby take notice of a hulking train passing them. In December however, the tracks the train is directly on, from the pole with the sign all the way back to the end o... (more)

Onto the BNSF track now,past Rices Point Yard, the coal empty is headed for the former DM&IR ore docks, where they will cut off and leave the train. The track they are pulling down on is the West... (more)

DM&IR #193 and EMC #4211 both spent their lives hauling ore, so 121 empty coal cars are a piece of cake. Here they wind through the Canal Park area of Duluth, almost to the BNSF's Rices Point Yard... (more)

While I am not pining for colder temps, shooting in brown 30 degree weather just doesn't have the same charm. Almost a year ago, on a bitterly cold day, the Rapids Local thunders down the Lakes Su... (more)

Christmas City Express pauses by the nicely lit trees adjacent to Bentleyville.

Unfortunately there hasn't been much snow after a big initial storm, so this shot looks like it could have been late fall. This is indeed December, but the #2500 and cars brighten the landscape.

Where Rail Meets Sail! Erie #4211 is no stranger to the shipping industry, having hauled hundreds of thousands of tons of ore to the dock at Taconite Harbor over the years. Now retired, she sits b... (more)

Stretched out as they run out their last miles in Rapid City, these guys will turn and head back to Belle Fourche.

These guys waste no time getting out of town! Within 5 minutes of whistling off they were cruising as they dig out of town.

This ain't your dad's C&NW... or maybe it is. There may no longer be green and yellow or blue and gold... but there is fresh orange and yellow and while many upgrades are being made to this area, ... (more)

The Belle Fourche turn runs through a very varied route, from the rolling hills seen here just out of Belle Fourche, to the mini-mountains near Sturgis and the urban area in Rapid City. The area t... (more)