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Steam To The Twin Ports with Milwaukee Road 261 and Dinner Train 6/02-03/2007

At Minneapolis Junction, I parked then walked to the front end for the pre-trip picture. This excursion train consisted of Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 261, auxiliary tender, Amtrak P42DC 53, NSR tool car 1615 "Grand Canyon", PPCX 800117 "Gritty Palace", NSR crew sleeper 1615 "Minnesota River", coaches PPCX 800799 "Lake Pepin", PPCX 800861 "Arizona" and PPCX 800798 "St. Paul Pass", open door baggage/concession car 2450, PPCX 800651 "Mohave", New York Central 38, NSR 3103 "Wisconsin Valley" PPCX 800787, PPCX 800045 "Caritas", PPCX 800197 "Montana", PPCX 800212 "Bella Vista", PPCX 800862 "Super Dome" and PPCX 800040 "Cedar Rapids".

I boarded the coach "Arizona" and after buying the new Milwaukee Road 261 T-shirt, returned to my seat to listen to Keith Richards and the Expensive Winos "Live at the Palladium" until departure time. At 9:10 AM, we departed and we were off to Duluth.

On the move before we proceeded through Northtown Yard then to Coon Creek where we left BNSF's Chicago-to-Seattle mainline and went out onto the Hinckley Subdivision.

Once out of the urban Minneapolis area, we were out in the Minnesota countryside.

I met Bart and Casey Dobrowski. Bart was a former Northern Pacific fireman while Casey was a member of the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion in Rolla, Minnesota.

Selling the wares of Milwaukee Road 261.

One of the 10,000 lakes in the great State of Minnesota.

Steaming north.

People enjoying the open door of the baggage car.

We stopped at Cambridge for Union Pacific 4432 South then back on the move, we continued to Hinckley.

Here we stopped to detrain a passenger and to service the steam engine.

Curving out of Hinckley as we made our way north.

The 764 foot Kettle River bridge just north of Sandstone.

The scene nearing Askew.

More of the green Minnesota countryside.

Another one of the 10,000 lakes in this state.

We crossed the Net River on a 396 foot high trestle and a short distance later, entered Wisconsin.

The siding at Foxboro.

Rounding another curve.

New bridge parts before we crossed our next bridge.

Crossing the Black River on a 1,600 foot bridge.

A few minutes later we crossed the Nemadji River on a 1,440 foot bridge.

Still passing through the miles of unspoilt forest.

Looking back, I could see the rear of our train before we reached the junction at Boylston with the former Great Northern line to Fargo. We passed the BNSF yard at Saunders before crossing over the Canadian National tracks then ran through M&J Junction and Central Avenue, going through Superior with BNSF's yard to the north to Lake Superior Terminal & Transfer Railroad junction.

Milwaukee Road 261 was walked around the tight curve with crew members making sure that the drivers stayed on the rail. We then went west to the Grassy Point drawbridge.

Our crossing of the Grassy Point Drawbridge over St. Louis Bay and back into Minnesota.

The crew walked the steam engine around another tight curve.

Exiting that curve.

A beautiful steam engine on a very overcast day.

Crossing one of the local roads.

A look at St. Louis Bay and drawbridge.

A look back at our very colourful train.

Approaching the ore docks.

The first ore docks.

A Great Lakes freighter at the second dock.

Running below the ore dock leads.

Coming to a stop before we arrived at BNSF's yard where our train would be wyed.

Milwaukee Road 261 was cut off and Amtrak P42DC 53 wyed us before we reversed into the Duluth Union Station.

Milwaukee Road 261 would follow us around the wye.

We stopped before the Amtrak locomotive pushed us around the other leg of the wye.

Milwaukee Road 261 started its trip around the wye.

Steve Sandberg kept a keen eye on the drivers and wheels.

My last view of the steam engine1 before we reversed to the station. I was first off the train and walked up the road to Superior Street then three blocks to the Holiday Inn where I checked in after a long delay due to the clerk's computer crashing. I checked my e-mail in the lobby before going up to Room 914, where I showered the coal cinders out of my hair before relaxing.

The view from my room. I watched the old "Match Game" before walking back down to the station to wait for tonight's dinner train.

The rear of our train at Duluth.

The beautiful "Cedar Rapids". As I returned to the front of the train, I met Keith Schmidt of Milwaukee.

Soo Line GP30 700, ex. Wisconsin Central 700, nee SOO Line 700, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1963, which would first switch our train from the excursion train to a dinner train and then be the power of that train. When we arrived, I saw an Erie Mining Railroad locomotive outside the museum along a road so decided to walk down to it.

Erie Mining S-12 7245, ex. LTV Mining 7245, ex. Erie Mining 7245, nee Monongahela Railway 425 built by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton in 1956.

I walked back to the station to wait to board, joined the queue and soon, Bob, another train rider I knew, joined me. Soo Line 700 cut off the tool cars all the way to the last coach so "Cedar Rapids" was left by itself before Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range 33 was added. The train was put together, pulled out of sight then Soo Line 700 came into sight on the run-around track then went to pull the train back to the station so we could board.

Our evening train consisted of Soo Line GP30 700, open door baggage/concession car 2450, PPCX 800651 "Mohave", New York Central 38, NSR 3103 "Wisconsin Valley" PPCX 800787, PPCX 800045 "Caritas", PPCX 800197 "Montana", PPCX 800212 "Bella Vista", PPCX 800862 "Super Dome", Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range 33 and PPCX 800040 "Cedar Rapids".

I boarded "Wisconsin Valley" and chose a table.

Across the table sat Duane Jansen, who had worked the Great Northern dining car service to Seattle on the Empire Builder, Western Star and others, as well as the trains to Winnipeg and Duluth. He had cooked meals for such people as Shirley Temple, Hopalong Cassidy and Billy Graham. We had some interesting conversation as we ate our meal, departing at 7:20 PM.

The evening menu.

The GP30 pushed us past the switch before we proceeded to Palmers, passing Erie Mining S-12 and its train.

The William A. Irvin, one of U.S. Steel's Great Lakes Fleet, which is part of the William A. Irvin Museum.

Lake Superior.

The lighthouse at the mouth of Duluth Harbor.

The breakwater and the bridge that never closes.

Another look back towards Duluth.

Along the shore of Lake Superior. We first travelled northeast through the London Road Tunnel, a freeway underpass.

We crossed Tischer Creek before going through the eastern suburbs of Lakeside, Lester Park and Rivers. At the beginning, Lake Superior was clearly seen before being mostly obscured by trees for the remainder of the trip. With our late departure, the rest of this journey was in the twilight.

The meal of roast beef was excellent. We crossd the Talmadge River on a trestle, followed by French River and Big and Little Sucker Creeks.

A lake as I was eating my meal. It was starting to get dark as we crossed the Knife River before we continued to Palmers.

Soo Line 700 cut off then ran around our dinner train. I decided to walk the train so went to the baggage car and chatted with Frank Sandberg first then made my way to "Cedar Rapids", looking at these unique passenger cars. On the way back, I settled into "Montana", talking with Joe Harper and Debbie Crimmin and others about my million mile rail trip and the first trip to see my brother Bruce in Pocatello, Idaho. That took most of the trip back to Duluth and we reversed into the station, arriving at 9:50 PM. I walked back to the Holiday Inn and watched the end of the Anaheim Ducks vs. Ottawa Senators, where the Ducks lost 5-3. I called home before going to bed, getting a full night's sleep.

6/03/2007 I was up at 6:40 AM, showered and printed my boarding pass for my flight home tonight then went to the restaurant and received ten dollars off the bill. I checked out before I walking through the Duluth Skywalk back to the station and thanked Steve Sandberg for all of the unique Milwaukee Road 261 excursions over the years that helped me reach my million rail mile goal. With time to spare, I decided to go through the Lake Superior Railroad Museum again.

Housed in the Historic Duluth Union Depot, the Lake Superior Railroad Museum houses the finest collection of Railroad Equipment in the country, with interactive exhibits as well as history from the region, the Lake Superior Railroad Museum is a must-visit attraction in Duluth. In the summer and fall months, the museum's North Shore Scenic Railroad offers train excursions, together the two organizations offer the richest historic experiences in railroading anywhere.

Begun as a local project in 1973, the museum has rapidly grown into one of the largest and most respected railway museums in the country. It is housed within Duluth’s restored Union Depot complex, with most of its major exhibit space enclosed for all-weather viewing. The museum focuses on railroading in the Lake Superior region, which is reflected in the collection.

I went inside this wonderful museum.

Northern Pacific 0-4-0T 1 "Minnetonka" built by Smith & Porter in 1870. It was the first locomotive purchased by the Northern Pacific, cost $6,000 and helped build the east end of the Northern Pacific system from Carlton to Brainerd, Minnesota, then transferred to the west end from Kalama to Tacoma, Washington. In 1886, 1 was sold to the Ainsworth & Simpson Lumber Company, where the small fuel tender was added. In 1889, it went to the Port Blakely Mill Company in Montesano, Washington and then to Polson Brothers Logging of Hoquiam, Washington in 1895, where it was known as "Old Betsy". It remained in service for Polson Brothers until 1928 when it was abandoned in nearby woods.

Five years later, after a lengthy search, the Northern Pacific found the locomotive in the woods near Hoquiam and traded Baldwin built 2-8-0 51 for it. It was moved to St. Paul for reconditioning and subsequently steamed at the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair, 1939-40 New York World's Fair and 1948-49 Chicago Railroad Fair.

For some time, "Minnetonka" was displayed outside BNSF's Fort Worth headquarters and it is still the property of BNSF on loan to the museum.

St. Paul and Pacific 4-4-0 1 "William Crooks", nee Minnesota and Pacific Railroad 1 built by New Jersey Locomotive and Machine Works in 1861 and is named for the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the St. Paul and Pacific. It was the first locomotive to operate in Minnesota, starting work in 1862 hauling passenger trains between St. Paul and St. Anthony. It joined the Saint Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway in June 1879 with transfer of the SP&P to that road.

In 1890, the "William Crooks" passed to the Great Northern Railway with another transfer of the road and was saved from scrapping by James J. Hill, President of the Great Northern, in 1897, and later appeared at the 1927 Fair of the Iron Horse in Maryland.

Built as a wood burner, it was later converted to burn coal then steamed for the very last time, appearing in the "Wheels A-Rolling" pageant at the Chicago Railroad Fair in 1948. The "William Crooks" went on display at the Saint Paul Union Depot from 1954 to 1962 when it was donated to the Minnesota Historical Society by the Great Northern.

Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range 2-8-8-4 227 built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1931 based upon the design of Western Pacific 2-8-8-2's. In the late 1930's, although tonnage had dropped considerably as a result of economic recession, the DM&IR saw a need for new power to meet the demands of transporting what were certain to be much greater volumes of ore as a result of impending war in Europe. The railroad had not purchased any new locomotives in nearly twenty years but had in mind a locomotive that could handle 115 car, 8,750 ton trains on the Iron Range Division's 0.62 percent grades without stalling. Although lighter at 560,257 square feet, the DM&IR Yellowstones were heavier on their drivers and had greater tractive force than either the Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boys or the Chesapeake and Ohio 2-6-6-6 Alleghenies.

Also pictured here is Milwaukee Road EF1 10200 built by General Electric in 1915, This is the first of forty-two electric units bought to operate on the Milwaukee Road's six hundred and sixty miles of newly electrified line in Montana, Idaho and Washington. Thirty were assigned to freight service classified as EF-1 (10200-10229). The other twelve were assigned to passenger service as class EP-1 (10100-10111) and had higher-speed gearing.

The locomotive consists of two half units numbered as one, with 'A' and 'B' suffixes, coupled back to back using couplers and a ball and socket joint. When it was delivered, 10200 was the most powerful electric locomotive in the world. In 1919, with the arrival of a newer generation of passenger power, the EP-1 locomotives were converted to EF-1 freight locomotives and renumbered 10230-10241. In this role, they continued in service into the 1970's. 10200 was retired in the mid-1970's and donated to the museum in 1977.

Lake Superior Railroad Museum 900 mm gauge streetcar 530 built by Lisbon Tramway in 1926 using wooden bodies, which approximate the relative size and appearance of the original Duluth streetcars. In the early 1900's, the United States was the world's leader in producing streetcars. Duluth had an extensive streetcar system, but none of the original four-wheel streetcars are known to still exist.

Lake Shore Museum of Transportation 1 built by the Mack Truck Company in 1931 for Fegles Construction Company of Minneapolis. It was later owned by the Northern Pump Company, also of Minneapolis. The Mack Company was formed in 1893 and began making rail cars and locomotives in 1905. Although it has passed through a number of owners over the years, it still operates as a subsidiary of Renault Trucks.

After retirement, 1 was donated to the museum by the Hyman-Michaels Company of Duluth and was then completely rebuilt by the Reserve Mining Company at its Babbitt, Minnesota shops. It is one of the oldest surviving diesel locomotives in the world, but remains fully operational and is used for switching at the museum when required.

Duluth and Northeastern 2-8-0 28 1955, nee Duluth, Missabe & Northern 332 built by American Locomotive Company in 1906. It hauled ore on the DM&N's line out of Mountain Iron, Minnesota, on the Mesabi Range to docks at Superior, Wisconsin and Duluth until 1964. After dieselisation, it ran specials for the D&NE and on 8th August 1965, hauled the last passenger train to use the Duluth depot and last operated in September 1972. The D&NE repainted 28 in 1973, then shipped it via Burlington Northern to the museum, arriving on 13th July 1974. The locomotive was restored by the Cloquet Terminal shop in Cloquet.

Also pictured is Northern Pacific 2-6-2 2435 built by American Locomotive Company in 1907. Designed for light freight service, they were assigned initially to the company's eastern divisions but, by 1908, were running on all the divisions except Seattle. With the advent of faster and larger locomotives, 2435 was transferred to switching and transfer duties. Retired in 1954, it was donated to the City of Duluth and went on display at the city zoo then was donated to the museum by the City of Duluth in 1978.

Erie Mining S-12 7243, nee Erie Mining 403, built by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation in 1956, one of four such switchers built for the Erie Mining Company and the last locomotive to leave Baldwin's Eddystone, Pennsylvania plant before it closed.

The Erie Mining Company was formed in 1940 to establish the commercial feasibility of Taconite mining in Iron Mountain, Minnesota. Construction of a pellet plant at Hoyt Lake and a 1,200 foot ore dock and related buildings at Taconite Harbor was begun in 1954 and completed in 1957. The railroad's seventy-two mile line ran from Hoyt Lake to Taconite Harbor on Lake Superior.

Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic RS-1 101 built by American Locomotive Company in 1945, the only known survivor from the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic, which served a large part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Lake Superior shoreline of Wisconsin. It had a long life (1885-1960), much of it as a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific. In 1961, the CPR combined it with the Wisconsin Central and Soo Line, renaming the whole operation the Soo Line.

Oliver Iron Mining HH-1000 900 built by American Locomotive Company in 1940, and is believed to be the first diesel-electric locomotive used on the Mesabi Range. It was donated to the Museum in 1973 by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding of Duluth, who had used the engine since its retirement as a temporary electrical generator. It is still in operating condition. The "HH" in the earlier series (HH-300, HH-600, HH-660 and HH-900) was originally an abbreviation of "High Hood", but came to be used as an official designation of the hp output.

Museum scene.

Soo Line FP7 2500, nee Electro-Motive Division demonstrator 7001 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1949. The FP7 was basically an F7A unit extended by four feet to provide water capacity for a steam generator to heat passenger trains. 2500 occasionally pulls excursions on the North Shore Scenic Railroad and its exterior was repainted and mechanical restoration was completed in 1995.

Hanna Iron Mining Company steeple cab electric 307 built by General Electric in 1928 for service at Hanna's Wabigon Mine in Buhl, Minnesota. It also worked on the company's Mesabi Chief Washing Plant haulage line near Keewatin Minnesota.

The Hanna Company began as Rhodes & Company mining coal in Ohio in the 1840's. It expanded into iron mining around Lake Superior in the 1860's and changed its name to Hanna Mining in 1885. In the 1980's, it diversified into plastics and polymers while progressively divesting its mining operations. It is now part of PolyOne Corporation.

307 took power via a pantograph from an offset overhead line, which provided room for transferring ore into cars by shovel loaders. The locomotive also sported a cord run from a large front mounted disk that permitted it to travel further into the mine than the overhead line. 307 was the last electric unit to operate on the Mesabi Range and was donated to the museum by the Hanna Mining Company in 1974.

General Electric Rail Services (Peavey) SW-1 14, ex. Davenport, Rock Island and Northwestern 84, nee Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 9139 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1939.

I then returned to the train and caught up on my writing while listening to some tunes before we train departed for the Twin Cities.

We departed at 11:07 AM and I bought a pair of hot dogs and relaxed at my seat, reading the Rolling Stone article about Keith Richards and Johnny Depp working on "Pirates of the Caribbean at World's End!" It took the train almost an hour to reach to Superior.

We came out of that tight curve in Superior before the rain started pouring down and we crept south until we passed Union Pacific 3095 North at Boylston. I sat back and enjoyed the northern Minnesota countryside.

A pair of pictures south of Nickerson where the rain stopped. However, before Bruno, the rain returned and lasted until Askew. I walked back to "Montana" to let Debbie Crimmin hear "The Ballad of Chris Guenzler, Million Mile Man".

I was back at my seat as we crossed the Kettle River as the rain resumed. Our train stopped at MP 81.4 to service the engine and the rains washed away the planned photo runby here. On the move again, the rain stopped then the main whistle cable broke so until we could stop, 261's air horn was used, as was the second whistle. We stopped in Cambridge at 3:32 PM then departed at 3:50 PM, when the sun finally shone.

At Bethel is Independent Locomotive Services and Belt Railway of Chicago TR4B 516 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1950. BNSF 4949 North held the mainline at Andover before we ran down to Coon Creek but had to wait for a BNSF freight train to clear the junction.

After Coon Creek, we were on the BNSF mainline from Seattle to Chicago.

Passing through Northtown Yard with the skyline of Minneapolis standing guard.

The train passed under the former SOO Line (now Canadian Pacific Railway) that I rode over behind Canadian Pacific 4-6-2 2816 "Empress" in 2004. At Minneapolis Junction, Milwaukee Road 261 cut off and went to the shop. Amtrak P42DC 53 pulled us back to where we had started yesterday morning at 5:48 AM, ending another fantastic excursion with Milwaukee Road 261.

I detrained, ran to my rental car and was the second car out of the parking area. I filled the car and got on Interstate 35W towards the airport but this highway was closed south of downtown so I had to take Hiawatha Avenue following the Hiawatha Light Rail Line to the airport. I returned the rental car, went through security and missed getting on the 7:15 PM flight to LAX by two minutes. I had a Subway sandwich for dinner which I took to Gate G2 to wait for my 9:10 PM flight to LAX. Sudoku puzzles, Aerosmith's "Permanent Vacation" and the Scorpions' "Crazy World" flled the time until boarding.

The 757-200 airplane was boarded at 8:40 PM CDT, left at 9:08 PM CDT and plane took off at 9:23 PM CDT during a beautiful sunset. Keith Emerson's "Hammer it Out" took me back all the way to California, where we touched down at 10:33 PM PDT and I was in front of Terminal 2 by 10:50 at the Prime Time Shuttle location, finding the Flyaway Bus representative in the red hat and jacket. I was asked to sit on the bench and wait, which I did but no estimated time of arrival was given. Finally, at 11:15 PM, my van showed up and started its two trips around the airport. We left at 12:06 AM {6/04/07} and made our way down Interstate 405, first to a home in Fountain Valley, then to an apartment complex in Irvine for two other passengers. I was next and was dropped off at the Santa Ana station at 1:08 AM. I walked to my car and drove home, pulling in at 1:12 AM, ending a fantastic trip to Minnesota for the Minnesota Zephyr Dinner Train and Milwaukee Road 261 excursion to Duluth.