Classic BNSF: Along the Route of the Milwaukee Road Vol. 1 - Mainline and South Dakota Core Lines
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- čas přidán 9. 11. 2022
- In this video, we'll cover BNSF's former Milwaukee Road mainline in western Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, with extended coverage over the former Great Northern between Willmar, Minnesota and Appleton, Minnesota. In addition to the Milwaukee mainline, we'll also cover the BNSF Core Lines between Sioux City, Iowa and Aberdeen, South Dakota, with brief coverage of the Mitchell Subdivision between Mitchell, South Dakota and Canton, South Dakota. This video was produced when most of the Milwaukee main was still laid with jointed rail, giving the viewer a nice sound show as trains pound along at track speed. Classic EMD power was found on most trains, with SD40-2s being the most common locomotive seen throughout the video. Oddball locomotives such as BNSF's only operating SDP40, a couple SD45-2s, and several SD9s all make appearances in this program. MRL SD45s and SD40-2XRs show up on several BNSF trains, adding to the variety. The Twin Cities & Western was also captured by our cameras, with classic Caterpillar and EMD “geeps” in charge.
This program comprises segments of both videos covering this territory that were released on DVD in 2009, with updating and re-editing completed in November of 2022. Thank you for watching! If you enjoy what you've seen today, be sure to check out C. Vision's extensive lineup of videos on CZcams.
Territory seen in this video:
BNSF Morris Subdivision, Willmar to Benson
BNSF Appleton Subdivision, Benson to Aberdeen
BNSF Watertown Subdivision, Appleton to Louisburg
BNSF Aberdeen Subdivision, Sioux City to Aberdeen
BNSF Mitchell Subdivision, Mitchell to Chancellor
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Classic BNSF Railway: Crossing The Cornbelt, The Marshall Subdivision - FULL VIDEO (1997)
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I lived in Mitchell from 96-2006. BNSF had 3 locals that came to Mitchell at that time.
The "Cyclone" ran from Sioux Falls to Mitchell and back, they moved cement, reefers, some lumber and of course, grain. Occasionally, they would have 4 to 5 units, GP9/10/15/28/38/39's.They usually made three trips a week.
The "North" local or sometimes called the "Sioux City" local ran twice a week on a three day turn. They brought most of DSRC's traffic to Mitchell. They moved mostly grain but served a plant that used aluminum and DSRC's paper products for our Mitchell customer. They also moved DME traffic other than cement. During my time, DSRC did not haul grain.
The "South" local ran three times a week to Mitchell and brought traffic to Mitchell for the Cyclone and North locals from DME. The cement went to Sioux Falls, bean meal, other milled products, bean oil, cement, bentonite, lumber, some ethanol and other odd-lot car loads.
Well, that sure is some great information for everyone reading the comments. Thank you, sir. The Core Lines are a really neat network of rail lines. You could argue they are under-appreciated. They don’t seem to get a lot of fan coverage. Thanks again!
Classic BNSF never gets old to me! It was good to see a few standard cab SD70s, uncommon b units, Electro Motive SD60s etc.
We agree, Alik! Those are some of our favorite units. We appreciate you watching and commenting.
It became apparent in these videos from the late 90’s to 2020 shows the BNSF’s intent to use the line as a cutoff from Montana.
Kudos to the the then President Krebbs
It was nice to see BNSF utilizing the route to capacity, at least for a little while. During the days of heavy traffic on the former Northern Pacific through North Dakota, this line was often quite busy. Those days are long gone now, as coal and oil traffic have dropped significantly. The good news is that the former Milwaukee Road mainline is still fairly active with originating and terminating traffic. The Core Lines combined with the Milwaukee main generate a good bit of revenue for the BNSF. The other positive news is that Appleton to Terry is now welded rail with minimal slow orders. We appreciate you watching the video.
I miss this era so much! Before the Dash 9s and GEVOs took over, it was pure variety!
We do too! And we absolutely agree. By this point, the engines were getting very mismatched (paint and model), and weren’t always all that clean. Looking back on it though, the variety was off the charts and totally worth documenting. Thanks for the comment!
Those sd40-2s sound so good 👌
Oh, yes. Definitely one of the best sounds in railroading. As you can probably tell, SD40-2s were quite common on BNSF’s former Milwaukee Road lines back in those days. Thank you for appreciating them.
BN 7151 @20:12 was produced in 1:87 HO scale in the 1990s by Athearn. My late grandfather bought it for me for a birthday gift and I have it to this day.
That’s correct, Sean! 7151 looked great in person and as a model. One of the coolest units BN owned, in our opinion.
You have an excellent line of videos for sale,
thanks for sharing one for free!
You’re very welcome! And thank you for the kind words. There will be more! And there’s a few already online.
Another awesome video from territory I know well. It’s pretty amazing that in 2022 you can still see a lot of these old EMD’s working across these lines. Thanks for sharing all of these!!
Thank you for the kind words, Bryant. And yes, we’re lucky that a few chosen EMDs have stuck around to protect local and secondary freight assignments out of Willmar and Aberdeen. They are always a treat to see. Also, more of these full programs are on the way. Stay tuned!
Oh , were you a Conductor or Engineer ?
Those pre-Micro Precision K3LAs are literal music to my ears. I know BNSF likely can’t buy the old Pacific Extension since most of the line is on reservations, but that would be AMAZING if trains could run there again.
We agree on those K3LAs. The horns were very nice back in the 2000s, and earlier. We miss them. And yes, a revival of the Pacific Extension would be incredible, but extremely unlikely. Thank you for the comment!
The Employee's should've retained a team of lawyer's and demanded to see all of the paperwork earnings liens on property. Leases ect. Before the abandonment was finalized. I watched a u tube video about a branch line in Washington that was making tons of money but were told it didn't matter. They were cutting business by not bringing customers cars. On purpose. Drying it up because that's what Quinn told them to do .B.N. was behind alot of dirty deals.
Why wouldn’t the native Indians strike up deals to allow traffic in order to earn substantial income for their tribes?😮
Great stuff as always! This series has been on my wishlist for a while, and I'm happy to see it's finally on here! Fun little tidbit was my grandpa, Eugene Wiest, was in the South Dakota State Legislature for a time in the 70s/80s, and he was involved with saving this section of the Milwaukee Road in 1982, so this line has always had a personal connection for me. Makes me grateful it still sees traffic to this day!
Wow! Cool connection Jordan! Thank you for sharing that and thanks for the comment!!!
I love all the SD40-2 action. Great locomotives, wish I had paid more attention to them when I was younger
Thank you! We’re glad you enjoyed it. They were always a treat to see, but they were everywhere... Times sure have changed!
Luckily I live next to a switching yard and see some iteration of them on a daily basis. Usually remote controlled.
Thanks, Chris and Mike, for featuring my old stomping grounds! One of the things I miss is keeping up on what's happening these days along the old Milwaukee Main Line. I especially enjoyed the view of the old US&S searchlight signal between Andover and Groton, SD. A retired BNSF conductor was able to salvage one of the complete signals for me from that very stretch of track. It could have very well been that particular signal, for all I know! I had it upright and operating in my backyard in Aberdeen--complete with the help of a couple old relays helping control its remote-control operation! I do have more signal heads, etc. available if anyone is interested. Feel free to PM me.
You’re very welcome! We are grateful to be able to share this footage with you. The Milwaukee main has a certain mystique that draws you in... As for the searchlights, our only regret is that we didn’t include more of them. That scene was captured in June of 2005, and the only ones left on the Appleton Sub at the time were between Andover and Aberdeen. By 2006, they were gone. Happy to hear a few were saved! Thanks for the nice comment.
it never gets old Mr.mike-bednar or should I say bednarski? hm? I should receive your trp trains and railroads of the past magazine 4th quarter 2022 issue number #32 in the mailbox by tomorrow!
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for uploading! So nice to see all that old power. Wish those MRL units still made it this far to the east. I appreciated the geology lesson!
You’re welcome! And yes, MRL units used to roam all over. Those days are long over, unfortunately. And, interesting geology in that area, for sure! Thanks for watching.
I really like this video! Watching units in BN green and the Santa Fe Yellow Bonnet ply the rails on which the Olympian sped.
Thank you, MJ!!! We agree that it’s a very interesting and historic piece of the old Milwaukee Road. We appreciate you watching and commenting.
Wow This train Video is amazing I have seen sd40-2 before. I like BNSF classic too.
Thank you so much, Paul! We agree; SD40-2s are pretty awesome!
3:15 let's go footage of one of the three bnsf sdp40's!
Yes! And it is seen a couple more times after that. By the time we captured that footage, it was the only one in service on BNSF.
Love all the emd's. Love anything to do with a fallen flag carrier like the Milwaukee Road, and LOVE that part of America!
Same here on all counts! This project was a lot of fun to produce for precisely those reasons. Thank you, Arthur!
I am from Fargo, ND. And I do remember the Milwaukee road short line. Running through Fargo in 1980. And about Watertown, SD and the Rock Island railroad. The Rock Island and the Milwaukee road. Had a Y junction in Watertown. But The Rock Island,who had very little presence in South Dakota though, built a line from Ellsworth IA to Watertown SD. I live in the Cedar Rapids, IA metro now. Rock Island used to have depot, in Cedar Rapids and a yard. Same with the Milwaukee Road. Some of the Rock Island rail. Is still around and the south side of the city of Cedar Rapids. I am thinking of making a video. Of the rock island rail. Still in the ground. And the same with the Milwaukee road rail also. In my area.
It’s fascinating to see all the lines that used to crisscross Iowa and the Dakotas. There are still many traces left of these abandoned routes if one knows where to look. Thank you for watching the video.
ага, если б такие локомотивы были в Одессе)))
I see the MRL legacy of deferred maintenance (hard rocking by equipment) continues…haha😅
Yeah, there was quite a bit of that in this video with all that jointed rail. BNSF has made some significant track improvements on these lines since then. It was quite the experience watching a heavy grain or coal train pounding along the jointed rail at 40 mph back in those days… Thank you for watching the video.
Yes! Old school BNSF with lots of BN motors with their BN horns. To hell with the Chicago sub and Powder River Basin and Montana!
I obtained my love for trains in Odessa. That section of track through there in the early 90s was so bad. There was a 15mph speed limit for a while until it was replaced around 1992-ish. Cars were rockin and rollin really bad before the speed limit. Not sure if there were any derailments in that area during that time, but there have been two major train wrecks in Odessa over the last 100 years.
You know what, we’ve heard that too. The SOO apparently stopped maintaining that section while they owned it. Which is odd, since coal trains were still running over the line until 1991. Apparently the lack of other traffic led them to focus their maintenance dollars elsewhere. It was always neat seeing trains fly through Odessa on the jointed rail in BNSF days. We really miss that sound... Thank you so much for the comment!
I know the Milwaukee Road. It was declared bankruptcy in 1977 and was abandoned in 1980.
That’s correct, Andrew! The Pacific Extension west of Miles City got the ax in 1980.
@@CVisionProductions1 Sad State of affairs it was . Screwed a lot of families over . Quinn ... Cavenaugh .Ect .
Brad: Agreed. The Milwaukee’s system had an enormous amount of potential. Much of it lost while in the hands of a few bad actors.
Wow! Holy shit, what a variety of locomotives and liveries there were in those years; At what time were these shots taken?
Yes, the variety was incredible! Thank you. The scenes in this video were captured between 2005 and 2009, although there were a few older scenes from the 90s included as well.
Great content but an ad every 5 mins really killed the enjoyment for me.
Thank you, Adam. That’s understandable. They’ve ramped it up in the past few years.
When was this filmed??
Most of the footage was captured between 2005 and 2009, but we also included a few scenes from the 1990s. Thank you for your interest in the video.
Back when EMDs were the go to! Quick question, Do you know if there were ever any manifests on the Mitchell Sub?
We always loved seeing classic EMD power operating over these lines. Those units were definitely worth pursuing. And to answer your question, probably not in BN or BNSF days. Thank you for the comment.
When was the shot at 12:45 taken? It looks like most of this is from the late 00s, and I thought the SD9s were retired by 2004 or so?
The scene you’re referring to was captured in June of 2005. But you are correct, the footage used in this video is mostly from the 2005-2009 timeframe. As far as the SD9s go, they were fairly common on these Aberdeen runs until 2007. The geeps and SD9s were initially replaced by pairs of SD40-2s. Please let us know if you have any further questions. Thank you for watching.
Will you upload Volume 2 of this series?
Absolutely. Hopefully within the next month or two.
Is it still mostly jointed rail?
Hello, Curtis. It’s all gone, for better or worse. It was really beginning to fall apart around the time we wrapped up production on this program in 2009. Lots of 10 and 25 mph slow orders by the end.
Whats different from a gp7 and gp10? Not up to speed on the locomotive id and things.
In this case, BNSF 1418 was simply a rebuilt and upgraded GP7. Burlington Northern referred to these rebuilt units as GP10s. The locomotives featured an upgraded prime mover, a low short hood, a four-stack exhaust manifold, and many other upgrades. Thank you for asking. We’re always happy to share additional locomotive details.
Thank ya for answering, so basically it's a hot rodded gp7 then that's awesome.
Bingo. And you’re welcome!
Alot of old Milwaukee Road guys left their town and relocated to St. Paul Minnesota Because they Didn't want to work for The B.N. , They were known for treating their employee's like crap .
Did some of the Montevideo guys move to St. Paul? We remember a few of them ended up in Willmar on the BN.
@@CVisionProductions1 My cousin and I both worked out of ST. Paul Yard . him way before me . and there were quite a few section men and Trainmen who moved into The Twin Cities off the west end . Some stayed with the crooked B.N.
😃 ρ尺ｏΜ𝐎ᔕᗰ
Wonder why the Dakota Southern didn't buy up everything From Aberdeen to Soix city Iowa ?
Can you imagine how different things would be if that had happened? From what we’ve seen, it’s doubtful that DSRC would have had the resources available to complete the purchase. Not to mention, the Burlington Northern was already operating that trackage by the time DSRC came into existence. But, a very interesting alternate outcome to consider, that’s for sure. Thanks for the comment, Brad.
@@CVisionProductions1 I always forget that the Rapid city line was part of the Mason city to Sheldon line and our Austin line ended west of Madison south Dakota
One of our biggest wishes was that Sheldon to Canton wasn’t pulled up. The whole line would have been viable as a through route. Very unfortunate that decisions were made to sever it and piece it off to different owners on the west end.
@@CVisionProductions1 Just like pulling up the Austin to calmer Ia. Line . From Cliff RD. To The Mississippi in Iowa The Fastest Route When The speed limit was 50 mph . on our old Mainline .
That was a mighty fine line in its heyday. It’s interesting to look back at old timetables and see what the speeds used to be (often much higher than today). That Milwaukee Road stick rail must have been some high quality stuff! We remember hearing that from the men working the Algona Section. “If you take care of it, it will take care of you”, referring to the old 90 pound rail between Mason City and Sheldon.