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Freight Trains of The Upper Mississippi River Photo Archive By John Kelly SC
Freight Trains of The Upper Mississippi River Photo Archive By John Kelly
Softcover 126 Pages
Copyright 2005
Table of Contents
Chapter 1:
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway
page 9
Chapter 2:
Canadian Pacific Railway-Soo Line
page 58
Chapter 3:
Canadian National-Illinois Central-Chicago
Central & Pacific
page 90
Chapter 4:
Upper Mississippi River Regional Railroads
page 105
Chapter 5:
The Great Mississippi River Flood of '1965
page 116
Introduction
The Anishinabe Indians (Ojibwa) gave the Mississippi River its name. They called it "Messi-Sipi" or Great River. The upper Mississippi River, one of our national treasures, is edged with two scenic highways, Wisconsin Highway 35 and Minnesota Highway 61, both signed as the Great River Road, "America's Great Scenic Drive." Highway 35 paces the river's east bank through small towns including Maiden Rock and Fountain City. Here the roadway is etched into the bluff-side, at other times it sweeps away from the bluffs in a grand semi-circle, but always the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway runs alongside. The Canadian Pacific Railway parallels Minnesota Highway 61 on the west bank of the river. Its trackage passes beneath steep limestone bluffs with spectacular Mississippi River views.
What makes these two rail lines unique is the cycle of the seasons in the river valley. The white mantle of winter, the new-green brilliance of spring, summer sunlight, and autumn's amber hues are reflected as the trains pace "Old Man River" on their journey through the seasons. Words and pictures do not convey the real beauty of this lovely river valley. You must travel it slowly, stopping to enjoy the slow-paced river towns, scenic lookout points, the lock and dam system, river barges, and the trains, all of which add to the river's appeal. Perhaps someday, you can visit the upper Mississippi River valley, an area bordered and challenged by the mighty river, which flows through our history and America's Heartland.
Since the days of Mark Twain, the upper Mississippi River has been a transportation corridor. Today, it is a major gateway for river barge traffic to St. Paul, St. Louis and New Orleans. Just as important are the rail corridors of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) along the upper Mississippi River. Canadian Pacific trackage (formerly Milwaukee Road-Soo Line) follows the west bank of the river from St. Paul, Minnesota to La Crosse, Wisconsin. On the east side of the river is Burlington Northern Santa Fe's mostly double-track route from Savanna, Illinois, to St. Croix, Minnesota, near St. Paul.
Departing Savanna, westbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe trains travel 156.5 miles on the Chicago Division-Aurora Subdivision to North La Crosse, Wisconsin. Aurora Subdivision trackage is a combination of Centralized Traffic Control (CTC), Automatic Block Signals (ABS), and Track Warrant Control (TWC) for efficient train movements. Beginning at Galena, Illinois, (Portage) to East Dubuque, Illinois, Canadian National Railway (formerly Illinois Central) has trackage rights on BNSF for 13 miles. At East Dubuque, Illinois, Canadian National trains branch off the BNSF mainline, onto Canadian National trackage and diverge into a short, curved tunnel under the bluffs. Exiting the tunnel, Canadian National trains immediately cross BNSF tracks at grade, entering Dubuque, Iowa, over the Mississippi River drawbridge. Westbound BNSF trains continue up-river into Wisconsin, with the mainline staying close to the river's east bank. Much of this is wilderness area, inaccessible by automobile. Here the Great River curves slowly, making intricate channels and islands. The views from the hills that line the Mississippi River are breathtaking with natural vistas equal to those of the Columbia and Hudson Rivers. Mississippi Palisades State Park at Savanna and Wyalusing State Park at Prairie Du Chien have lookout points high above the BNSF mainline. Both offer outstanding photo opportunities. The most scenic portion of BNSF's upper Mississippi River route is between Prairie Du Chien and La Crosse, Wisconsin. It is also the most accessible for rail photos, as Wisconsin's Great River Road (Highway 35) is next to the railroad most of the way.
On the eastern outskirts of La Crosse, Wisconsin, is BNSF's North La Crosse Yard. All BNSF trains stop at North La Crosse for a crew change between North-town (Minneapolis), Chicago and Galesburg, Illinois. North La Crosse Yard is immediately north of Grand Crossing interlocking (BNSF milepost 300.2 and CPR milepost 280.0, both measured from Chicago). Radio scanners are helpful, because you can hear the BNSF Ft. Worth dispatcher clear track warrants and verify crew arrival and departure information. After the crew change at North La Crosse Yard, BNSF westbound trains continue up-river, 110.3 miles on the Twin Cities Division-St. Croix Subdivision to St. Croix, Minnesota. From St. Croix interlocking near Hastings, Minnesota, the BNSF and Canadian Pacific main lines converge as both railroads pool their parallel, single track to form joint, double-track for 19.5 miles into St. Paul, Minnesota. Westbound BNSF trains continue to Northtown Yard in Minneapolis. Burlington Northern Santa Fe averages 30 trains daily on the river line including double-stacks from the Ports of Seattle-Tacoma and piggyback trailers from Portland, the Twin Cities and
Chicago. BNSF unit trains consist of automobiles, grain, potash, taconite and general merchandise. BNSF motive power includes General Electric AC4400CW and Dash 9-44CW locomotives in Heritage I and II orange-green colors. Electro-Motive SD7OMACS, plus leased and run through motive power can also be seen. Burlington Northern green and white SD40-2 locomotives and a few Santa Fe red-and-silver Warbonnet units still ply this line. Most BNSF trains use alpha-character station abbreviation train symbols. For example, Train UMADALW is empty taconite hoppers returning from Madison, Illinois, to Allouez, Wisconsin.
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