Railway Interchange 2019 had its typical outdoor displays at BNSF Railway's Northtown Yard between Minneapolis and St. Paul. This was my first visit to a Minneapolis-hosted Interchange, which traditionally has alternated between Indianapolis and Minneapolis biennially. In my seven years with Trains Magazine, this was my first Interchange at Minneapolis with the outdoor displays. However, the next two are scheduled for Indianapolis, possibly ending the outdoor displays at Northtown.
Regardless of what the future may hold, my experience at Minneapolis in 2019 was outstanding. Here's a short look at some of the outdoor displays, which included hospitality booths built on a flatcar and in a container, as well as the equipment that railroads need to keep their tracks in good order. Two new covered hoppers were on display as well, from Trinity and Greenbrier, and those have been covered already on News Wire. Trinity was supposed to display a new "Hourglass" auto rack, but that had not arrive by the time of my Monday afternoon trek to the outdoor displays, which required a bus ride of about 20 minutes from the convention center. Of particular note was the presence of a schnabel car, part of the BNSF Logistics fleet, the first time I'd seen such a car up close.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.