SteinJR, next time you and you lovely wife are in St. Paul, look me up. We need to walk the (paved over) tracks along Charles Ave. At one time, there were business that recieved rail service each day; an urban setting, switching in the streets. Das ist gut, ja?
Wolfie, where is Henry? I need more HENRY! I love 44Tonners, best switching Loco for a small urban setting, hands down! Please, more Henry!
So are you talking about the part of Charles Avenue west of the Amtrak station and south of Minnesota Commercial’s Yard, or the part to the east of the Amtrak station?
I have walked the area west of the Amtrak station a couple of years ago, and took some pictures.
I have also seen parts of Charles further east - we went visiting my wife’s maternal grandmother several times every summer while her grandma still lived - she lived on Charles Avenue somewhere between Dale and Lexington - can’t remember the exact address anymore.
But that area was just older homes - a couple of steps up from the street to the front porch, and an alley behind the houses with access to the garage in the back yard.
There is also an area that looks fairly promising on maps a block north of Hennepin, between Harding and 280.
A search of the Minnesota Historical Society’s visual database yields these hits on photos from location “minneapolis.northeast” between 1930 and 1970: