Here’s a link to some great pictures of cargo which arrived in Duluth MN via ship and is destined to ship to Canada via rail.
Scroll down the pictures and about half way down are the rail pictures.
“Great pictures” is too modest a term. These are incredible. I have seen that Schnabel car come through Milwaukee and it has to be seen to be believed.
A good reminder that the twin ports of Duluth Superior make for great railfanning
Dave Nelson
one of those pieces has to weigh over 200 tones if the Schnabel car is needed. That car is only brought in for the really BIG loads since it costs so much to rent.
Also, a train museum in the old train station. Nicely done up in the basement area of the building.
We go to Duluth monthly from Minneapolis and between the railroad, ships arriving and departing(in season), and Lake Superior itself, a great place to visit. Railcars bringing taconite to the ore docks in 'Duluth and Two Harbors.
Friends of the 261(former Milwaukee Road Steam Engine) ran an overnight excursion to Duluth earlier this summer that was a fantastic trip.
Terrific pix thanks [:o)]
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Originally posted by redflasher
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Amazing. Must have been blistering cold, too.
Blisterig cold, nnaah, we’re minnesnowtons, cold is nothing!
Those pictures are remarkable. There was a recent view of a loaded Schnabel car on the BNSF with a large load in Trains Mag. These pohos with men standing around add a scale to the size of that Schnable care that is almost hard to conceive. It realy make you stop and marvel at the engineering that must happen to move loads of that size.
Here is a link to photos of the last time I got to work with one of those things…
http://leonard.tamu.edu/Trains/NewBNSF/PTRA.htm
Amazing thing is it’s articulated, and the ends can moves side to side several feet off center, to walk it around line side obstructions.
Ed
Hey Ed,
Pretty cool. I noticed a caboose on the end in the last photo. Did this travel the whole way to CO? If so, was it used for the old fashioned purpose?
Many thanks in advance,
Michael
I personally didnt see it but I imagine it originated in the CP’s small branch yard off of the BNSF, so it must have been a very complicated move considering the size of the yard.
Yup, its a real caboose…but it does double duty as a bunk house also, the crew has to stay with the car the entire trip, so the caboose has a full kitchen, and three drop down bunks.
There is a little Jeep Liberity that is used for a utility car, it travels on a flat car ahead of the caboose.
They had two of the cabooses on this move, one in front and one on the rear, so they could keep thier eyes on the reactor from both ends.
Ed
The big piece this time will weigh 805 tons. Although the train is being loaded now it won’t leave until the ground freezes.
I finally got to go see it and as my suspicions were correct, if is going to be VERY hard to manuver the car through the yard. It almost a 90 degree angle off the dock.
I read in todays Star Tribune that the Schnabel car costs $1.2 million to rent for 25 days[:0]. Also, I think DMIR’s last caboose is one of the bunk cars, along with a BC Rail caboose. BTW, I heard that the train with the other heavy equipment, about 61 total cars, is to leave around December 1, with the Schnabel running seperate.
Thats correct, the other parts have been loaded onto intermodel cars and are sitting on a yard extension.