I know it's nearly 10 years after this original post, but I just ran across it tonight. I also grew up in a small town along the Farmington to Mankato line and as a kid I used to race my bike over to the tracks daily. Power was pretty consistently one GP9, sometimes two if they had a big load out of Mankato. Occasionally I would see a GP20 on the line as well. I think the most cars I ever saw on a train was 56 and there was one day they ran with 3 GP9's. Unfortunately I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I should have, although I have some prints that I need to scan. In about 1974 and 1975 I kept a log daily of train activity, engines, cars, time, etc. I was a pretty devoted 10 year old! I would also love to see more pictures of the line. Weeds, bent rail and all!
Pinecliffe - Welcome to Trains.com!
Darren (BLHS & CRRM Lifetime Member)
Delaware and Hudson Virtual Museum (DHVM), Railroad Adventures (RRAdventures)
My Blog
Pinecliffe,
I would be very interested in any information you would have available pertaining to daily train activity along this line. I have worked with Dakota City Pioneer Village at the Dakota County Fairgrounds (in Farmington), and the Lakeville Historical Society.
I would like to replicate the railroads as they were in this area and any information that would pertain to train activities would be very useful. I have both Trainz (train simulator) and Train Dispatcher (a dispatching simulator), which I am working towards building replicas of the areas trackage.
I am also mapping most of the surrounding areas on Wikimapia.org. Here is a link to Dakota City: http://wikimapia.org/#lat=44.6278558&lon=-93.1487009&z=17&l=0&m=b
If you would like to contact me directly my email address is: michael.schuhwerck@yahoo.com.
Thanks in advance,
MJS
The lastest issue of "The Milwaukee Railroader" (the magazine of the Milwaukee Road Historical Society) has a DVD listed for purchase that features a railfan trip on the Farmington, MN to Wells, MN branch that was taken in the late 50's. May be worth checking out.
Matt
I chased trains on that line back in the 70's. Service was 3 round trips each week, based out of Farmington. The train usually had a single GP9 or one of the re-builds(GP20). The train was actually 'scheduled' as a 3rd class train in the employee time table. You could read the time table and run out to a town and usually find it there.
There was very little business on the line. Some interchange with the ex-M&Stl line at Montgomery(for the cannery), and through traffic to Mankato. The big problem was flooding between Cleveland and Kasota - the track was often 'soft' and many times the line would be 'embargoed'. When this happened, the Milwaukee would run extra 'Wells Turns' to move the re-routed traffic from Farmington to Austin to Wells. After the 'Red Jacket' bridge south of Mankato was embargoed, both lines were taken out of service. For a while, the Milwaukee ran extra's out of St Paul via C&NW trackage rights to Mankato via the 'Omaha West' line.
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
i looked in the first quarter issue for 2013 of The Milwaukee Railroader and could not find the ad for the DVD you mentioned. Would you remember what page ?
i currently live along this old rail line. It cuts through a golf course in Elko and is used as a path. The highway dept took out the bridge on I-35 the railroad went under several years ago but even today one can easily see the remains of the old line. Also MnDOT has the old right of way maps and foot print of depot's.
I would be very interested in seeing the old movie.
Dan
Any luck finding the article?
I remember in the 70's going to watch the train near Montgomery with my grandfather. There use to be a depot that was torn down along with some side tracks near CNW. There was a wooden car bridge east of Montgomery that we use to stand on as trains ran by underneath. Cars swayed side to side as the upkeep on the railbed was minimal.
The elevators along the line at LeCenter and Cleveland are now gone. Over 40 years later I can still spot the route if I travel through the area.
I could not find my copy of the first quarter issue, so I will give you what information I can from the DVD box.
The cover reads "From the Ray Benson Jr. collection of Bob Melcher Films from the 50's & 60's and John Goodman Films."
The back cover reads "LocoSteamChaser Productions"
I will continue to look for my copy of the magazine, but in the mean time the above information may help you do a internet search.
Jim, Do you happen to have pictures? -Ian
Thanks for the info. The Bar attached to the supper club in Webster has a great picture of the train going thru Webster. The tracks were higher than the road thru town. So the picture shows the train on a wooden trestle going over the road. One can still see elevated rail bed. Trestle is gone however.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.