C&NW Convention 2016

The annual C&NW Historical Society Convention held its 2016 Convention in Minneapolis on May 12-15.  Another great convention with speakers, bus trips to historical locations, good friends, and lots of food!  Following are pictures of sights we saw on our bus trips.

DAY 1.  First stop was the light rail maintenance facility.  About 120 people on three buses were given the royal treatment.  Our tour guides took us through the entire facility, except the dispatch center, and answered all our questions.  (A couple of weeks earlier, on a tour, someone broke the rules by taking a cell phone picture in the dispatch center and posted it on-line. End of seeing the dispatch center.)

Last year the light rail averaged 31,400 riders daily for a total of 10.6 million on the Blue Line (Mall Of America to Target Field) and 37,400 riders daily for a total of 12.4 million on the Green Line (St. Paul Union Depot to Target Field)

There are 11 revenue consists on the Blue Line and 12 revenue consists on the Green Line.  There are 2 types of cars, Bombardier (17 cars) and Siemens (59 cars).  The Bombardier cars have a 30-year life cycle and they are on year 12.

To be an engineer on the light rail, a person must first be a Metro bus driver.  There are currently 121 engineers (train operators).

The cars run on 750-800 volts direct current.  There are 17 substations on the blue line and 14 on the green line, each about one mile apart.  The power comes in at 4,000 volts, is stepped down to 584 volts, and then rectified back up to a clean 750-800 volts.  This is converted to 3-Phase AC for the propulsion motors.  Three car sets have the first and third powered and the middle one is used for braking.

Here is the storage barn which holds 48 cars.

 We had full access to the shops.

There are lots of mini-turntables for moving the wheel sets:

We even had access to the pits:

These cars have three types different brakes:  engine, disc brakes on wheel and shoe pad against rail.

Here is the paint shop, with automated robotic sprayers.

Unfortunately, the two types of cars are not compatible.  The couplers work so cars can be towed but not used together.  (Different electrical connections)

Another large room has the washers and sanding/fuel facilities.

We got back on the buses and went to Bloomington where Progressive Rail parked an engine and caboose for us to take pictures.

At this location they have a large transload facility.

We drove to 28th Avenue, just north of Mall Of America and rode the light rail down to Target Field.

A few sights along the way.  Here we pass the light rail facility maintenance shop.

And we pass the new Viking Stadium:

At the top of one of the station stops is this neat translucent panel with star constellations.

We pass the Soo Line Building (but didn't stop!)

And we arrive at Target Field.

Back on the buses, we travel to the Milwaukee Road 261 steam engine shop (where we had lunch also).  We had complete access to the shop, pit, and even the cab.

Of special interest to me is the dome car which is owned by the North Shore Scenic Railroad but is having work done by the 261 staff.

Parked at the 261 shop was the BNSF Business Train.  Warren Buffet and Matt Rose were on this train (Buffet wanted to see the steam engine) but they got off earlier to return home for a funeral.

Back to the hotel, the first speaker was Yours Truly!

From this angle, I don't see anyone sleeping!!

Day 2:  Another good bus trip.  We started out by visiting SPUD (St. Paul Union Depot).  I had been here two weeks ago for Laker Rail but this time we had a guided tour.  Here's the front of out of a window of our bus.

Entering the depot, we head to the Head House.

Inside the Head House.

Back into the waiting room, there had been a Prom the previous night so crews were cleaning up but we could go around the outside.

Across the street from the front of the depot is the BN Building.  This was the location of the Great Northern headquarters and the Northern Pacific headquarters.  Interestingly, there was a wall between the two competing (and didn't get along) railroads with only one door on one floor connecting the two.  It was only used for delivery of important messages.  When the two companies merged as part of Burlington Northern, the dividing walls came down!

And just down the right and across the street was the Omaha Railway Building.

Back on the buses, we headed to Randolph, located south of the Twin Cities.  Our first scheduled stop was at the large grain loading facility.  It has a big loop track for continuous loading.  Even with this, unit trains must be split into two pieces for loading.  Unfortunately, our guide for this location had a medical emergency and was not there.

But Joe Fehr of Progressive Rail greeted us 'downtown.'  

PGR serves several businesses at this location.  Most interesting to me were 2 car repair businesses.  These companies drive up to the cars and do their repairs out in the open.

When the frac sand was booming, a company called PGR on a Sunday afternoon and said they wanted to start loading right away.  So PGR located this loader in Nebraska, went and got it, set it up, and they were in business late Tuesday!  Unfortunately, it was used for a very short time as the frac sand business dried up.

Our last stop was MTM (Minnesota Transportation Museum).  They have lots of equipment on display here.  A couple of shots:

Out by the roundhouse, caboose rides are given.  A couple of years ago I got to run the SD45 Hustle Muscle during caboose rides.  Today, friend Peter Johnson is at the controls so I climbed aboard for a quick ride.

We went back to the hotel for the Banquet and speaker, Mark Wegner of the TC&W (Twin Cities & Western).  Two more speakers on Sunday morning the the Convention was done for another year.  Another fun time with old (and new) friends.

CNW Mini-Convention 2015

The Chicago & North Western Historical Society held its annual Western Wisconsin Mini-Meet on Saturday, October 17, 2015 in Black River Falls.  Approximately 35 railroad historians/enthusiasts met for a day of socializing and learning about railroad operations in the Black River Falls area.

After registration, coffee, and rolls, we headed out in a car caravan to see the railroad sites.  Here's part of our group at our first stop, the Black River Falls depot.

The BRF depot has been added on to and now houses several small businesses.

And the back side.

To cross the Black River, the railroad built first a wooden bridge and then a steel bridge.  It was removed in 1915 but piers still remain in the river.

And--houses are built on the abutments on each side of the river!

Here is part of our caravan.

The highlight of the tour was a visit to Hoffman Construction and now retired owner Dave Hoffman, a real railroad enthusiast!  He had a new office building constructed to resemble a depot.

Note the "wings," resembling the Union Pacific logo.  It's also on his company's flag.

Mr. Hoffman greeted us in his meeting room and told us the history of his company and his train interests.

Besides his static railroad display, he owns two private cars, a dome car and a sleeper, which he runs behind Amtrak.  He showed us a video of his Northern Sky cars.

A couple of pictures from the Internet.











Outside he has a steam engine, a flat car, and two coaches.  The steam engine was built by Baldwin in 1906 for the Warren and Ouachita Valley Railroad.  In 1948 it was purchased by the Rock Island and represented the railroad in the 1949 Chicago Rail Fair.  It was retired in 1954 and purchased in 2002 by Mr. Hoffman.  It looks good enough to be steamed up right now!  (He does has air piped to the whistle and can blow it--SOUNDS GREAT!)

The flat car was owned by the Royal American Shows.  It was built by the Warren Tank Car Company in 1929 and traveled to Wisconsin and Minnesota State Fairs.  Mr. Hoffman purchased it in 2003.  It displays antique caterpillars that were owned by Peter Hoffman and skidded white pine logs in northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan in the 1920s.  They have been rebuilt and probably would run right now.
 

Mr. Hoffman has two passenger cars.  The rear car is an open end observation built by the American Car and Foundry in 1917 for the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad.  It became a business car for the NC&StL in 1925.  Mr. Hoffman purchased it in 2002.

Here are two interior shots.

The second car is a wooden coach car built by Pullman in 1900 for the Rock Island.  It also represented the Rock Island in the 1949 Chicago Rail Fair.  It was purchased by Mr. Hoffman in 2002.

We then journeyed to Merrillan for a brat, beans, chips, and salad lunch.  The bar/restaurant was right along the tracks but no trains came through.  It and the Merrillan depot are located at the crossing of the GB&W (Green Bay & Western) and Omaha Railway (CNW) tracks.  Those tracks are now owned by CN and Union Pacific.

We went back to the Thunderbird Motel for picture shows.  The feature was a 168-picture Power Point presented by Dick Johnson.  It thoroughly covered the Black River Falls railroad action as well as some other local highlights.  Attendees brought models and memorabilia and Dave Mikelson, the meet organizer, gave away door prizes.

The one-day meets are always fun.  They cover the railroad history of the area as well as being inexpensive, offering the opportunity for lots of people to attend.  Next year's site is undecided--looking for ideas!!