Trip to La Crosse
2/26/10
by Dave Ingles

CP 282, 9509/Soo 6042/Soo 4419, MP 166, W of Rio, 11:25 a.m.

CP 487, Portage Jct., parked for re-crew, ICE 6424/CP 5941/ICE 6457

Amtrak #8, Lewiston, eng. 188-197-120, 10 cars, 12:44 p.m.

CP 486 pulls out of Lewiston siding after Amtrak #8 passes, ICE 6437/ DME 6068/ICE 6411, 91 cars, 12:50 pm.

Eagle train-watching above Hwy. 16, Lewiston

CP 280, 8879 only, E of Wis. Dells, 1324 hours

CP 6042 E, vehicle train, freshly tied down in Kilbourn siding w. of Wis. Dells awaiting re-crew, 1342 hours

CP 802, coal loads, 5920/Soo 6045, 66 cars, MP 202 E of Lyndon Sta., 1355 hrs

CP G68 local power between moves, Sparta, Wis., 1452 hrs, Soo 4448/CP 4612

DM&E #170, 6363/CP 5966, 96 cars, Dakota, MN, along Miss. River on CP, 1617 hours

N. La Crosse yard job spots boxcar at customer at CP Sullivan, Onalaska, Wis., 1655 hours

Right at sunset, 1713 hours, BNSF 740 E, w/ 1123 and 81 cars, drifts past yard-limit board n. of CP Sullivan in Onalaska, Wis.

Former Warbonnet 524 at N. La Crosse yard, 1727 hours

Sister in silhouette

CP local job, Soo 4413/CP 4602, at customer next to street south of Copeland Park baseball field, 1745 hrs

After supper, "America's Train," Amtrak #7 Empire Builder, glides into La Crosse depot, engines 147/2/151, 1923 hours

Saturday morning, 2/27/10, around La Crosse

Cascade Green lives! Yard, 8:55 a.m.

Local power, ex-Warbonnets

"CP finally is gonna let us run some trains. I have three eastbounds." Cass St., 9:15, 5319/8256 E

S. of GP Graf, MP 295, 8916/9141 E, 9:43 a.m.

5382/Ferromex 4613 E, 108 cars, 10:20 a.m.

CP 581, 4611/4526, 23 cars, waiting for Amtrak #8 to clear, 10:40 a.m.

Amtrak #8, "America's Train," w/ "America's Hogger," C.E. Willett, at the throttle; eng. 57/176/56, 10 cars, 1043 a.m.

CP 802, BNSF 9193/8863 E, DPU 9398, 11:02 a.m.

BNSF's ready to go east. 4881/8213/524/1775/6936 is LAW-GAL (LSE- Galesburg); 4900 is ???, never shot it; 11:38 a.m.

BNSF W, 4545/5058/5427/NS 9754, 12:18 pm

The teaser: BNSF 4767 E, 2 units, stopped here west of YL sign; I had to leave; 12:45 pm

Sunday morning, 2/28/10, La Crosse

CP local power tied up, west of depot, north of main line, 8:40 a.m.: 4612/4448, 4602/4413

The old Soo GP38-2 warhorses, and kin, Soo, ex-MILW, and secondhand rebuilt GP40's, still hold down virtually all local jobs from Bensenville to Minot, and are featured in the new SLT&HS "The Soo" magazine in a color pictorial. Most of the 4400's have not been repainted from factory off-white and red.

The BBQ restaurant in the east-end (Baggage) area of the LSE MILW/ Amtrak depot is great. A year-plus ago, Carol and I were dining in as Amtrak #7, Empire Builder, glilded in for its 7:15 pm station stop, and we watched from our table seats. You can't beat that ambience!