Driving home through the fog last night, I hoped there would be some frost this morning. I wasn't disappointed, and the BNSF obliged with a few trains on the Marshall Sub. First was this grain t... (more)

Snow and frost make the prairie of west central Minnesota look barren but beautiful. A pair of BNSF GE's provide a bit of color as they accelerate out of Clara City toward Willmar with manifest t... (more)

In the winter, foggy nights lead to frosty mornings. By the time I got to Benson, a lot of the frost was gone thanks to the sun and a brisk wind. A bit of it still clings to the codeline along t... (more)

Time marches on, the calendar turns to another year, but I was pleased to find a solid train of piggyback trailers passing underneath the venerable Santa Fe signals at Edelstein in 2016.

Some of the last light of 2015 finds a BNSF train heading north along the flooded Mississippi River at Hannibal.

On a cold and windy December afternoon, a BNSF manifest climbs out of the Minnesota River valley at Granite Falls behind five GEs. Across the valley you can see a string of covered hoppers stored... (more)

Having seen the RRVW 406 either trailing or only in the lead when it was stationary, it was fun to see it in use as the lead locomotive as the crew used it to work the west end of the sugar beet p... (more)

A GP20C, a GP30C, and a GP15C haul the Ruebel Turn the last few miles toward the sugar beet plant near Renville on an unseasonably warm December afternoon.

A former Illinois Central rebuilt GP10, a former Kennecott Copper rebuilt GP39-2, and a former Soo Line CAT powered GP15C sit idle near Renville.

A pair of classic Soo Line GP38-2s bask in spring sunshine at Glenwood Yard back in 2012.

On a beautiful November afternoon, the westbound Ruebel Turn passes the large elevator at Stewart, another small town along the former Milwaukee Road mainline west of Minneapolis.

A pair of GP's rest by the sanding tower in Willmar on a clear but chilly November morning. This was the first Utah Railway locomotive I've ever seen in person. I have no clue what it was doing ... (more)

A rebuilt GP30 wears fresh BNSF paint, but luckily retains its iconic look as it idles in Willmar on a clear fall morning.

The sun has set moments ago, but railroading continues as the TC&W's Ruebel Turn pauses to make its crew change at the sugar beet processing facility near Renville. The new crew will finish the w... (more)

After traveling light westbound to the ethanol plant near Granite Falls earlier in the day, three UP locomotives have covered hoppers eastbound at sunset. The large sugar beet processing plant ou... (more)