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Crossing Trains - St. Cloud - March 8th.


I've definitely been feeling lately like I need to get out trainspotting more. The trip up to Duluth really got me fired up again. Today was the perfect chance. Mrs. TS-USA headed off to the home and garden show with her sister, leaving me to my own devices for the day. The only draw back being that I had to do the laundry. No bother. That doesn't take long. Plus I then get to stay down in the basement and work on my model railways. The laundry could wait until the afternoon. Besides it's going to snow then. The weatherman says so*.
So shortly after 10am I was heading west to Saint Cloud, with John Lydon screaming at me through the CD player. I took this as a good omen as I had lost the CD "the best of British one pound notes" for over a year and had recently found it again. Once in Saint Cloud I decided to set up at the depot to start with and see what transpired.
Well barely had I been there a minute when I heard the far off tone of a horn from the south. I don't normally hear them from that direction, must be the wind direction. So at least I was going to see something. The horn got gradually louder and then suddenly it came from the North! Had the wind been playing tricks on me? No there was defintely one coming from the North as well. At this I got quite excited. Two trains! Great! Then I had second thoughts.
"What were the chances that the trains would cross right in front of me and I'd miss getting a picture of one of them" That would be just my luck. Still, I didn't have much time to dwell on it as the southbound rounded the curve crossed the road and entered the viewfinder of the camera an ES44 No. 7484 and warbonnet C44 on a mixed freight doing a fair old clip it had to be said. I wish I'd been paying more attention as No.3 loco in the lash up is a Ferromex C-44. A Mexican loco in Minnesota. Strange indeed.
7484 approaching
I looked to the north and saw the headlights of the southbound approaching. At least with the northbound passing first I wasn't going to get blocked out on this  second train. I glee fully clicked away at the lash up of C-44's lead by number 4022.
BNSF 4402
It was, it had to be said a chilly morning. So I headed back to the truck to warm up and have a read of a magazine I'd bought with me. So after about 15 minutes had passed I once again heard the sound of a distant horn from the south... and the North. All thoughts passed though my head simultaneously.
"What a great day1" "I hope I don't get blocked out on one of these either. Luckily that wasn't to happen and the southbound Auto racks headed by C-44 No. 5347 arrived first and cleared out just before the Northbound coal train barelled though kicking up quite the dust storm
BNSF 5347 and autoracks
BNSF 5765
Back to the car to warm up for a few minutes and then another horn was heard from the North. A Southbound coal train headed by a pair of SD70MACS. But this train had a little surprise in store.
BNSF 8892 on coal train
BNSF 9793 DPU
Yes! Some DPU in the rear. I don't often see DPU on this section of the Staples sub. Heading east through Brainerd to Superior its commonplace. But not so much here. With that things went quiet and I dcided to head over to the yeard to see if there was anything there. Nothing out of the unusual. Apart from Northern Lines RLCX 1703 looking very sick indeed . It looks like it had been subjected to a rather serious oil leak.
Sick RLCX 1703
with that I decided to call it a day and head home. Not a bad mornings gricing all in all...
*It should be pointed out that at the time I'm writing this (5:45pm) it's bright sunshine outside and has been all afternoon...