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4/24/2024
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Viewing Album:  along the Great River
 
By:Steve J Rush
Dates:4/5/2009 - 4/26/2009
Album Info:Many people, for many years, have believed that the Upper Mississippi River Valley with the river's locks and dams is a very wonderful and most beautiful place, to say the least! The old Milwaukee Road on which I hired out in the summer of 1968 is now the Soo/ CP and runs on the western or Minnesota side. The Burlington Northern (BNSF if you wish) from which I retired 41 years later, runs on the eastern or Wisconsin side--- of that which is called "the Great River"! The passenger trains of these two great railroads that once ran here chased each other up and down the river valley and they ran at least as fast as the Amtrak trains run today! Also there were 2 or 3 times as many passenger trains in the river valley as there is today! They ran fast and they had to run fast, because besides competing with each other in the river valley, they together competed against the CNW 400's and also the Soo Line! The CNW said that this was because they could run the 400+ miles between Chicago and the Twin Cities in... you guessed it, 400 minutes! Oh the glory of that which once was! And this was only part of all that there once was. And I only saw a small part of it before one day, suddenly--- it all changed and was then gone--- forever! But I believe there are and still is remaining to this very day, parts and pieces of that greatness which can still be found. And this is, if only one knows where to search and then continues carefully--- to always stop, look and listen! Yes listening always, for the ghosts of the things of the past and the things that once were but are now of the past. Always expecting to find them hidden--- in the greatness of the things that now are and remain to this very day in which we now live and are given a chance to run and play. Let's make the most of it, because our time here will not be as long as we wish! (sjr)
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420--- along the Great River
Title:  420--- along the Great River
Description:  Out checking the line ahead of the "Empire Builder" Amtk7--- between La Crosse, Wisconsin and Winona, Minnesota
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/26/2009 8:09:59 PM
Location:  Donehower, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Action
Locomotives: 
Views:  67   Comments: 0
423--- along the Great River
Title:  423--- along the Great River
Description: 
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/26/2009 8:11:07 PM
Location:  Donehower, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Action
Locomotives: 
Views:  70   Comments: 0
425--- along the Great River
Title:  425--- along the Great River
Description: 
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/26/2009 8:12:05 PM
Location:  Donehower, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Action
Locomotives: 
Views:  66   Comments: 0
429--- along the Great River
Title:  429--- along the Great River
Description: 
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/26/2009 8:12:50 PM
Location:  Donehower, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Action
Locomotives: 
Views:  63   Comments: 0
432--- along the Great River
Title:  432--- along the Great River
Description:  Having passed our house in Rockland earlier--- We have now caught up with the same westbound that was still out and running ahead of Amtk7--- between La Crosse, Wisconsin and Winona, Minnesota! This is on the western or Minnesota side of the Great River Valley, thus the tree covered sandstone hills on the other side of the river are in Wisconsin. Sometimes when you can see across the river, you might see a BNSF train racing for the St Croix Tower interlocking which is the beginning of the "joint double track" into St Paul and the once busy Union Depot where the "Great Northern Pacific" as some called it then ran west crossing the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific ocean and the cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Portland!
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/26/2009 8:14:40 PM
Location:  Lamoille, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Action
Locomotives:  CP 8823(ES44AC)
Views:  235   Comments: 0
434--- along the Great River
Title:  434--- along the Great River
Description: 
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/26/2009 8:15:21 PM
Location:  Lamoille, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Action
Locomotives: 
Views:  58   Comments: 0
436--- along the Great River
Title:  436--- along the Great River
Description: 
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/26/2009 8:19:14 PM
Location:  Lamoille, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Action
Locomotives: 
Views:  57   Comments: 0
437--- along the Great River
Title:  437--- along the Great River
Description: 
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/26/2009 8:20:02 PM
Location:  Lamoille, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Action
Locomotives: 
Views:  53   Comments: 0
442--- along the Great River
Title:  442--- along the Great River
Description: 
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/26/2009 8:21:25 PM
Location:  Homer, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Action
Locomotives: 
Views:  63   Comments: 0
444--- along the Great River
Title:  444--- along the Great River
Description:  And so that part of our trip that began when this train went by our house in Rockland, Wisconsin was now drawing to a close as they prepared to take siding south of Winona to let the westbound "Empire Builder" Amtk7 pass or so we thought at the time!!! The signals used here on the Soo/ CP are rather different from anything that I ever used to see, but after a while they "grew on me" and after a while I kind of took a liking to them!!! It just goes to say that--- "different people in different places do the same things differently"!!! And that is part of the fun and the glory of it!!!
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/26/2009 8:30:23 PM
Location:  Homer, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Action
Locomotives:  CP 8823(ES44AC)
Views:  184   Comments: 0
452--- looking into the west and the setting sun
Title:  452--- looking into the west and the setting sun
Description:  waiting for the "Empire Builder" amtk7 to arrive and stop at Winona for passengers and a crew change for the train and enginemen!!!
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/27/2009 2:48:58 AM
Location:  Winona, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Station,Passenger
Locomotives: 
Views:  63   Comments: 0
454--- waiting at the station!!!
Title:  454--- waiting at the station!!!
Description:  Standing on the platform and looking back down the line in the direction from which we had come!!! We knew that they were close because soon the detector was heard on the radio announcing "No Defects!!!" This is always good news!!!
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/27/2009 2:56:44 AM
Location:  Winona, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Station,Passenger
Locomotives: 
Views:  83   Comments: 0
455--- at the station
Title:  455--- at the station
Description:  waiting for Amtk7--- the westbound "Empire Builder" at Winona, Minnesota
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/26/2009 7:40:20 PM
Location:  Winona, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Station,Passenger
Locomotives: 
Views:  77   Comments: 0
456
Title:  456
Description: 
Photo Date:  4/5/2009  Upload Date: 4/27/2009 2:57:17 AM
Location:  Winona, MN
Author:  Beth Rush
Categories:  Station,Passenger,Action
Locomotives: 
Views:  60   Comments: 0

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