March 2011 Local Action

Photos by Dave Ingles

A dreary March 5 draws me trackside at Duplainville because the Empire Builders may meet around here, and friend Craig Willett is at the throttle of #8, running about 2 and a half hours late. Here's #7 with 133/194/123 and 11 cars right on-time at 1615 hours.

Not a minute later, the trains having passed where you have no easy access to the tracks, thru condo or light industry areas, here comes #8, 113/166/41, with 12 cars at 1616 hours.

The sun is out 11 days later for my next foray trackside, at Brookfield for #8 on March 16th, with 123/60/137 and 11 cars, over an hour late at 1500 hours.

It's like in the last century (that would be the 20th) a few minutes later, at 1517 out at Duplainville as CP #281 rolls by with Soo 6052/6029/CP 3019 and 60 cars. This is the descendant of the old "Ford Fast" on the Milwaukee Road, with mostly hi-cube boxcars of auto parts, and trilevels, both loaded and empty. Ford is scheduled to close its ancient St. Paul, Minn., plant in a few years, which will mean the end of this train, probably.

CP 3019 is one of four or five in the 3010's series that CP sent to the Twin Cities to help out the Soo GP38-2 fleet a long time ago now, perhaps in the late 1980's.

Another Soo SD60, 6024, trails CP 9598 on 80-car train #299 two days later, March 18th, at 1258 at Duplainville.

Five minutes later, Milwaukee-Watertown local G67, having cleared #299 at Pewaukee (end of two main tracks), scoots by with 9 cars behind 3019 and Soo 4434.

A rare visit to UP's yard at Butler and environs yields a local job pushing back thru the east wye at BJ north of the yard, having been to the east working customers' sidings, with MP15 1302 shoving 3 cars, at 1830 hours.

Not long afterward another local, the Granville Turn, follows him in with GP38-2 371 and 17 cars, at 1838 hours. Granville is on the old Air Line, the "valley route" that used to go to Fond du Lac; it is near the end of UP track now, CN operating it from MP 99 up to West Bend; from West Bend to Eden, near Fond du Lac, it is abandoned.

The 371 is, I think, one of the former C&NW 4600 series, rebuilt by UP; that group was ordered by Rock Island but delivered after RI quit to C&NW.

A slightly foggy March 21st afternoon finds me at Duplainville, first for CP #289, behind 8843/8718 with 115 cars, at 1350 hours. Amtrak #8, running about a half hour late, is lined up across the CN diamond.

Thirteen minutes later #8 shows up, with Craig Willett at the throttle of 82, trailing 136/60 and 10 cars, at 1403.

He waves a white timetable at us.

Having waited for #289 at Nashotah, a dozen miles west, local G67 rolls thru at 1436 with 4 cars behind GP40 4620, built as Milwaukee Road 172, later MILW 2045 and Soo 2045.

A cut of non-auto-related cars is ahead of the trilevels on CP #281 at 1451 behind CEFX leasers 1007 and 3176.

Next is a treat, an empty CN ore train heading back for Minnesota's Mesabi Iron Range with 195 new ore jennies behind 2250/2266 at 1505 hours, here at MP 104.25. It's the third ore train I've seen this season, two empties and one load, and will be the last. The loads usually operate in DPU mode.

By March 24th we've had more snow again, and luck is with me again as I hear on the scanner about a BCOL unit leading a southbound. It's #336, with 4653/CN 2343, by the Waukesha depot at 1129 hours. This is the first time I've caught one of these blue GE's on the point.

An hour later more snow has melted as a northbound behind 5722/2608 passes Grand Avenue with 105 cars. That building at the left is a brand-new dorm under construction for Carroll University, a parking lot of whose, right here at Grand Ave., makes a good train-watching spot.

Two days later, March 26, Terry Norton of Grayslake, Ill., who lives by the CN (and has since it was Soo Line), called to advise of a 2100-series unit, an ex-C&NW-UP Dash 8, leading a northbound, with one of the wide-nose ex-Santa Fe versions bought from BNSF by CN as 2nd unit. By the time the train, we think #447, reaches Waukesha, a cloudy morning has turned to more snow yet again. This is at Amron spur, 1305 hours, with units 2122/2196/8920 and 170 cars.

North of Duplainville at MP 103, the flakes get thicker; it's 1323 hours.

An hour later, CN #446 comes thru, and we have no trace of the snow! This is Joseph Road, just south of Duplainville's diamonds, at 1430 hours, with 140 cars behind IC 1038 and CN 5620.

It's hard to discern in this tight view at Springdale Road just east of the Duplainville diamonds, but trailing CP 8876 leading a grain extra east are an ex-UP SD leaser numbered 5999 and CITX 3090 with 114 cars at 1630 hours.

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