2816 is a beautiful machine. This is from LaCrosse:
dknelson wrote: wjstix wrote:BTW the boxcar right behind the engines being used as a toolcar by 2618 was pretty neat in and of itself; a 10' height steel boxcar built in 1936. It would have been one of the first all-steel cars built to that height.And it has a wood roofwalk, a good chance for modern day railfans to see what was becoming rare when I started noticing trains. Just imagine running on wet wood back in the days when brakemen had to set the brakes. Dave Nelson
wjstix wrote:BTW the boxcar right behind the engines being used as a toolcar by 2618 was pretty neat in and of itself; a 10' height steel boxcar built in 1936. It would have been one of the first all-steel cars built to that height.
And it has a wood roofwalk, a good chance for modern day railfans to see what was becoming rare when I started noticing trains. Just imagine running on wet wood back in the days when brakemen had to set the brakes.
Dave Nelson
Don't forget the layer of slippery coal dust on the wet roofwalk too!!
Keith Schmidt has posted some wonderful shots of the double header elsewhere on the Forum
http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/1218263/ShowPost.aspx
The first time 2816 came east to Ontario, she was suppose to make a stop in Oshawa, where I was living at the time.
CP had the stop posted on the website then changed their minds.
I was hoping to be able to see it up close. Man was I bummed out.
She was going to make a few stop then pull an excursion from Toronto to Guelph Junction using GO transit coaches.
Had little chance of getting on that as the demand would have been too great
Another train freak that I was working with at the time managed to get him & I on the excursion out of Toronto's Union Station, not on the GO coaches, but on CP's coaches.
I was doing cartwheels for a week. Got an hour long video of the trip from the vestibule.
The next year, 2816 came back to town on the cross country run pulling a string of passanger cars.
One of the guys in the same dealership I was still at, asked me if I wanted to see 2816 up close.
I said HUH?
His brother-in-law was working for CP (in charge of CP's eastern division I think) & gave me permission to be in CP's Agincourt Yard when she came back from Montreal.
I never asked to, but they allowed me up into the cab just after they tied her up for the night.
Still have pleasant memories from that railfan trip.
Gordon
Brought to you by the letters C.P.R. as well as D&H!
K1a - all the way
the train consisted of CP's trainset and then MILW's. yes both were present. this was a very long train. and each car was jam packed. everyone was waving to us too. it's an experience i will never forget!
i'm also not sure why the previous doubleheader back in 2004 had 2 P42s behind the steamers instead of that power car either. but i'm glad that wasnt the case this time. because the train had a very classic look. old and new in different trains (a CP ES44AC was leading a prior road freight before this train showed up)
Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.
Canadian Pacific has always had the two boxcars behind the D&H tender, not sure why they wouldn't have used it before in the US. I beleive that one is a tool car & the other is the power generator for the passenger cars.
Did CP have it's own passenger cars in the consist?
it matters not. for i was successful!
the empress is a very lovely lady indeed. pulling the train, but she didnt do any talking. but then again 261 had the mighty whistle. and he used it a LOT! also note the lack of a genesis behind them at last! seems they finally used a power car instead! nice that they made it look like a classic boxcar!
Only times I've seen for sure is a 8:30am departure from St. Paul. Supposedly they are saying about 8PM back into the cities too, but some people on the group speculate it'll be more like 5-6PM. I don't know which'll be right.
Noah
Lord Atmo wrote: any times listed? (sorry if me constantly asking this gets annoying. but you guys know how screwed i am in where i fan and moments like these dont always come. so i gotta be sure i can get this one for sure)cuz i dont know how long it takes for a train to get from lacrosse to wabasha
any times listed?
(sorry if me constantly asking this gets annoying. but you guys know how screwed i am in where i fan and moments like these dont always come. so i gotta be sure i can get this one for sure)
cuz i dont know how long it takes for a train to get from lacrosse to wabasha
Well it's pretty annoying being a ticketholder and not knowing!! My wife keeps asking when we're getting back tomorrow and I can only guess.
(I can't tell her too much as it's a surprise. She knows we're doing something tomorrow for our anniversary, but not exactly what it is.)
I finally thought to check one of my resources in the MNrail yahoo group, which is usually a pretty good source of info. Reports on there made tonight do have them doing things different from usual, and that they are supposed to be going across the River to La Crosse to unload the passenger at the depot for a lunch at the BBQ cafe near by (which is good food from what I am told). When they'll turn the train is anyone's guess though. I don't know if they'll leave while the passengers are eating and go to La Crescent and then back across the bridge for loading, or if they'll wait till everybody's back on board before heading over to La Cescent to turn the train. Logic would say more likely the latter though, as that way they don't have to make and extra trip over the River.
no kidding. but at least i can still see lots of BNSF action if i miss the steam
The only wye on the CP (and I don't think the BNSF has any at all) in the area is in LaCrescent, MN, just across the Mississippi River from La Crosse. It's formed by the ICE lines and the CP line intersecting at River Junction. With the 261's previous runs, while the trip is advertised to La Crosse, they really only went as far as the river bridge after using the wye at LaCrescent, and never made it into Wisconsin or La Crosse. They came in straight down the ICE main (south), stopped by a hydrant to take on water, then backed around the wye to the east onto the CP again and out on the Mississippi River bridge before running back up river on the CP. But if you billed it as being to LaCrescent, most people would probably respond with "where?"
I can't really think of any places that would make great trackside locations for a BBQ here, but there are a couple of lots where they could set up a tent and some tables ahead of time I suppose (and I might just be missing something too).
My guess is they'll pull down, unload passengers for the lunch somewhere, take on water, back around the wye onto the CP main, pull past the other wye switch, back down the ICE main, load the passengers, and then head back North whenever the CP dispatcher will take them. (That's just and educated guess on my part though, I really don't know for sure, so take my speculation for what it's worth) I suppose theoretically they could wye the train and then back into La Crosse for Lunch there somewhere, or go to La Crosse and then back over the river to wye the train before leaving, but that would seem like a lot of backing up and extra steps.
I'm suprised an offical schedule hasn't been posted either, as usually there is one given away with the tickets that makes it's way around the railfan world. Sure would be helpful...
"An optional BBQ lunch will be served at trackside at La Crosse." says the Friends of 261 website, and that's about it. Don't know why they don't post the schedule?? Course as I pointed out I have tickets and I didn't get one so maybe the Dept of Homeland Defense told them to keep things quiet for national security reasons...
I seem to remember reading somewhere that the train would turn at LaCrosse via a wye??
"Wabasha" like "Wabash" with an extra "a" tacked on the end, though not pronounced that way. (i.e. it's "WAH-Ba-Shaw" not "Wah-BASH-ah".)
BTW weather should be nice but bring a jacket, right now (8:22 a.m.) it's clear, sunny and 46F.
thanks for that. my route to get to the line will allow me to get on the CP side at Wabesha (spelling? it's that city across the mississippi from nelson, WI) allowing me more time to catch the steamers
then it's a fun-filled day on the BNSF. BOOYAH TO THAT!!!
an afternoon on the BNSF is like a month on the adams line. heh heh heh
I went back and looked at the times on my photos from previous 261 turns to La Crescent. Then it was about 1pm into River Junction (which was behind schedule because they'd been hosed for a couple of meets), and about 2:15 out of River Junction headed back North. That included a water stop and turning the train, and I think they had to wait a few minutes to meet a couple of freights as well. So I'd think what Stix said should be about right on.
Should be about a half hour to 45 minutes from River Junction to Winona, though it could be longer if they get put in the siding for a freight train, or less if they get right out there and get a clear track ahead of them. When they were down here a few weeks ago they were taking full advantage of tracks speeds...
Noah (who's looking forward to chasing the doubleheader).
good enough for me. i'll hopefully be arriving in winona around 2:00 or 3:00 PM and wont have missed the train go through
unless...er....anyone know how long it usually takes for CP trains to go from Lacrosse to Winona
stinkin' 8:00 AM-1:30 PM work shift....
Wish I could help more on the schedule for the 15th, but I was apparently the only ticketbuyer not sent an itinerary. I did get two maps though.
Leaving MPLS at 8:30 a.m. should get us into LaCrosse/LaCrescent about noon-1PM, which would seem to be confirmed by them having a barbeque lunch there. So I'm guessing we start going back north around 1:30-2PM and should get back to MPLS maybe 5:30-6PM??
wyomingrailfan wrote:Lord Atmo, why do you have a Autobot logo on a CNW SD40, and why is does the UP SD60 have its headlights and windows shot out?
that's an SD40-2, not an SD40. and the purpose is because in the transformers movie, none of the robots turned into trains. and that image is so far the closest thing we've gotten for a "trainformer"
second off, that's an SD60M, not an SD60. it's a pet peeve of mine when people call SD60Ms or SD60Fs SD60s. they may be from the SD60 series, but only the spartan cab hood unit is an SD60. they all have the same innards, but so do GP60s. and certainly nobody calls those SD60s. anyway, the purpose of that image is i put a face on the unit. because that's how i see them.
on topic: so no times at all? bummer. i'll have to guzzle more gas and just go to Lacrosse to see them
Here is the routing for the next two trips
Tommorow: The train will depart Soreham and head through New Brighton, Osceola, and head for Dresser before heading back to Shoreham through the same locations.
September 15th - Steam doubleheader!: The train will agagin be departing Shoreham, but will head the other way through St. Paul past Dayton's Bluff and Pigs Eye, then head down the Mississppi to the La Crosse/La Cresant area, then head back through the same points.
I don't have any times for these trips as that information hasn't been easy to come across.
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