Photographing the CNW 8701 in action.

April 14, 2008 I admit, today I wasn't looking for anything exciting. It was supposed to be nothing more than an average day trackside for me at best (not that I have any complaints about that!). Soon I would find that the day would be anything but average for me. Sometimes one just gets lucky. Today would be my day.

Starting out the day after eating breakfast I headed to the top of Dayton’s Bluff where I would try to take some shots utilizing the morning light. I got a shot of the Saint Paul skyline, and was quite happy with it. I even tried snapping incoming aircraft coming in for landings at Saint Paul's Holman field. The light was great and so was the weather-very spring like!

It wasn't long after that I happened to see a train. With the power being yellow it was a no brainer that this was a UP train of some sort. A closer inspection with the naked eye made me question what was on the point. A yellow unit with a green stripe, what could this be? Why this would have to be one of the remaining two Chicago & Northwestern units! Seeing the train creeping along made me wonder if it would be required to stop and wait for a signal. Sure enough, the train proceeded a short distance and then came to a complete stop right along Warner Road. I knew I had to take action and get down there to grab a shot or two even if the angle was not the most favorable one. Not 10 minutes later I was down in the parking section next to the Mississippi River and Warner Road. I jumped out of my truck and walked briskly along the river westward. I was nearly in position when the train got the light and began to notch up. I started to feel helpless and snapped a couple shots hoping for at least something to turn out.

I now walked back to my truck trying to decide what I should do next. I decided it would be best to take Warner Road (soon Shepard Road) west and see if I could get in front of the train even though I wasn't very familiar with the trackage and how they related to the road the further west you go. Turns out getting in front of this train was easy as the crew had to hold at Western Avenue while some turnouts were thrown. I drove further west on Shepard Road knowing that there was no place to park. I quickly turned off to Randolph Avenue hoping I could figure something out. I quickly realized this decision didn't make any sense. I quickly started calling people who knew more than I did, only problem is I couldn't reach anyone (Matt, Paul, or Eric). Trying one last person I hit the jackpot per say (thank you Aaron). With a detailed explanation of where this train was more than likely going followed by detailed instructions of how to get into place for a photo I quickly made my move.

Winding around I finally made my to what I would soon find out was "Bridge 15." This bridge was unique in that it was a turntable style system utilized as a swing bridge. Listening to the radio I knew I had plenty of time to spare so I began to scout out potential spots for certain angles. Chatting with fellow friend and railfan Eric C. I knew it wouldn't be long and I'd have the CNW Dash 9 heading for me. Minutes later I heard several units notching up. As the train got closer the units cut the throttle and began to cross over the bridge. Snapping photos like crazy I became increasingly more excited as I had never seen this unit or its' sister before. I would wind up shooting this train again one more time before losing it somewhere between Saint Paul and Shakopee.

I invite you to check out the full sized version here.

Thanks again Aaron for guiding me on to get to this great spot. I now have another great location to photograph trains.

See you trackside.