Hiawatha Sand Train

Hiawatha rail siding is on the south side of Junction City, Wisconsin.

The diamond is nearby in the picture,
and switches for 2 legs of the wye are beyond,
and then the switch for the north end of Hiawatha.

In the view above, a northbound frac sand train is in the siding,
and will probably go east and eventually to Chicago and points beyond,
such as the Texas oil fields.

And I am lucky to see an early evening west bound / south bound passing the train in the siding.
Below, this is about 1 mile south of Junction City. (Quad copter picture)

Passing a moo cow dairy farm. The white little 'mounds' are calf hutches, little plastic shelters.

I couldn't read the number of the lead NS locomotive, but the rest are NS 9045, BNSF 5002, BNSF 5315 Lots of sand hoppers are heading south to Wisconsin Rapids, where they will go west toward Taylor

and suprise, this train is more than empty sand hoppers. Cryo-Trans for the WOW warehouse, or for McCain's potatoes (it seems onions move this time of year?) And paper mill traffic. I think they call this train a Fon du Lac to Rapids turn? The freight get set out in Rapids, and all the foreign power and sand hoppers go to the Taylor Subdivision.

There are Marquis ethanol empties that will go to Rapids yard and then on a Nekoosa turn the next morning which will get them to the Necedah ethanol plant on two days of the week.

And then another bunch of sand with one older B and M Pullman Standard hopper.

Look at all the differences in the side sills of the sand hoppers. A few years ago, 50 new sand hoppers could be delivered with consecttive numbers. Now, they are 'all mixed up'.

This is the south end of Hiawatha, actually pictured before the southbound train passed, the mainline signal is Green over Red. The siding is bolted rail, the main is welded. And look at all those rail anchors, that should keep it in place when they climb up this small grade from the river bottom of Hayden Creek. The frac sand business and CN has given this area a lot of improvements.

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