This afternoon I took some well-deserved comp time for a ton of unpaid OT and swung-by Northtown Yard and the old SOO’s Shoreham Yard (now a CP intermodal facility). The most interesting thing I saw and photographed was the daily CN westbound stopped at Columbia Heights Jct. It was led by an IC GP40 (I think - 4-axle Geep anyway), a GTW SD40-2 and a CN SD40-2. It was a mixed freight of maybe 40-50 cars and I got a few shots as they were throwing the switch to leave the former SOO main and enter Shoreham. The crew didn’t mind that I was there - gave me a friendly wave and I stayed well off to the side. I got a few nice wedge-angle shots from beneath grade-level. The CN’s lash-ups for the Minneapolis-Stevens Point trains are colorful but I liked the WC colors better.
Question: Is Shoreham Yard where the CN’s daily job terminates? It just seemed a bit strange that a mixed freight was pulling to a stop in an intermodal yard. I’ve lived up here for 9 years but I’m still learning about the train operations in the area. The CN/WC has for whatever reason gotten to be my favorite class 1 to photograph (though I like the TC&W the best of all the Twin Cities lines).
CN’s daily freight terminates at New Brighton. What you saw was the Northtown Transfer. In order to head north at University Ave. they have to pass through Shoreham. If they used the Highline they would be heading south at University Ave. so they would have to pull through the interlocking then they would have to back into Northtown which would cause big delays. CN also runs a Humboldt Transfer to the CP (Soo) this uses the Highline and runs across the Mississippi River to Humboldt Yd. on the NW side of Minneapolis.
What kind of traffic volumes are they handling on this line I know they bring in roofing granules that move into Canada, potash and propane coming in from Canada much else.
Do you mean the former Minnesota Western (later M&StL, then CNW, then UP)? That goes into Plymouth and terminates just east of I-494. The UP operates that branch and they deliver coil cars to an industry right there by 494 - it intersects the old MN&S in Golden Valley over by Zane Ave. In fact I watched some of the UP’s upgrading of that spur a few summers ago.
Actually, now that I think of it, I believe the MN&S did briefly own that MW trackage.
found these on my last road trip