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Tony Held's Collection
 
5/7/2024
 
 
 
 
 
By:Tony Held
Dates:8/1/2007 - 4/17/2014
Album Info:Vistas from abandoned lines, and some not-so abandoned which have traces of previous owners still extant here and there.
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Rails Left In Pavement
Title:  Rails Left In Pavement
Description:  Looking across County 41 down towards Cy's Bar and Grill across County 41 on the now torn-up downtown Chaska line. Note the rails left in the pavement.
Photo Date:  10/22/2011  Upload Date: 10/22/2011 9:49:18 PM
Location:  Chaska, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  143   Comments: 0
The Former Cy's Crossing
Title:  The Former Cy's Crossing
Description:  The former pedestrian crossing for Cy's Bar and Grill retains crossbucks and even bits of rail.
Photo Date:  10/22/2011  Upload Date: 10/22/2011 10:15:00 PM
Location:  Chaska, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  129   Comments: 0
Gouged Out Rails At North Pine Street
Title:  Gouged Out Rails At North Pine Street
Description:  The salvagers aren't letting a piece of rail get away from them, it seems. Sad. Crossing is next door to Chaska Mill downtown.
Photo Date:  10/22/2011  Upload Date: 10/22/2011 10:15:18 PM
Location:  Chaska, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  108   Comments: 0
Pile Of Dirt And Crossbucks
Title:  Pile Of Dirt And Crossbucks
Description:  Dirt pile is from North Pine Street rail removal project. Crossbucks in mid-background are for said crossing. One in far background is for North Cedar Street. Ones in foreground for pedestrian crossing for Cy's Bar and Grill. Note how the one on the right still retains its UP emergency contact plate!
Photo Date:  10/22/2011  Upload Date: 10/22/2011 10:22:22 PM
Location:  Chaska, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  107   Comments: 0
Dismantling The Louie
Title:  Dismantling The Louie
Description:  Just across north pine street this scene was found by me this day. Sad.
Photo Date:  10/22/2011  Upload Date: 10/22/2011 10:22:44 PM
Location:  Chaska, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  143   Comments: 0
Flatcars to Flatbeds
Title:  Flatcars to Flatbeds
Description:  Old rail pulled up from the former Louie main in downtown Chaska rests next to a flat bed trailer. Crossing in background is for North Cedar Street.
Photo Date:  10/22/2011  Upload Date: 10/22/2011 10:23:16 PM
Location:  Chaska, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  118   Comments: 0
Where The Interurban Used To Call
Title:  Where The Interurban Used To Call
Description:  The sign says it all at the former TCRT depot in Como Park. Historic depot is in the background.
Photo Date:  10/29/2011  Upload Date: 10/29/2011 7:06:26 PM
Location:  Saint Paul, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  69   Comments: 0
Former Pedestrain Crossing
Title:  Former Pedestrain Crossing
Description:  People used to walk over the TCRT tracks on this bridge. Now the rails below are gone and the bride is closed and in disrepair. Fix that thing, City of Saint Paul!
Photo Date:  10/29/2011  Upload Date: 10/29/2011 7:13:46 PM
Location:  Saint Paul, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  79   Comments: 0
From Passengers To Event Goers
Title:  From Passengers To Event Goers
Description:  The TCRT depot at Como Park is now used for special events, as the patio which occupies where the platform once was.
Photo Date:  10/29/2011  Upload Date: 10/29/2011 7:13:17 PM
Location:  Saint Paul, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  79   Comments: 0
Lexington Parkway Bridge
Title:  Lexington Parkway Bridge
Description:  This historic structure still carries Lexington Parkway over the TCRT right-of-way now occupied by bike paths.
Photo Date:  10/29/2011  Upload Date: 10/29/2011 7:20:49 PM
Location:  Saint Paul, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  56   Comments: 0
The Parking Lot Side
Title:  The Parking Lot Side
Description:  This side of the Como Park TCRT depot faces the parking lot.
Photo Date:  10/29/2011  Upload Date: 10/29/2011 7:12:52 PM
Location:  Saint Paul, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  38   Comments: 0
The Milwaukee Road And TCRT Were Here
Title:  The Milwaukee Road And TCRT Were Here
Description:  This is one of the most unique depot remodels in the USA; this used to be an open-air platform shelter along the Milwaukee Road branch from Hopkins to Deephaven, MN, a line later bought by the Twin Cities Rapid Transit Company in 1906 and torn up in 1932 as TCRT gave way to the stiff automobile competition at Lake Minnetonka. However, instead of coming down, the depot shelter got a house built around it! Today it marks where the right-of-way once was (which was on the driveway to the left).
Photo Date:  11/1/2011  Upload Date: 11/2/2011 7:34:30 AM
Location:  Woodland, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  99   Comments: 0
Buried Beneath The Snow
Title:  Buried Beneath The Snow
Description:  The mothballed BNSF line running along the east bank of Old Man River is seen here down by the library on Broadway. This day it is buried beneath winter's snow on a cold but pleasant December Saturday afternoon.
Photo Date:  12/10/2011  Upload Date: 12/11/2011 9:25:30 AM
Location:  Minneapolis, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  100   Comments: 0
Next Stop The Scrapper?
Title:  Next Stop The Scrapper?
Description:  The mothballed BNSF line along the east bank of the Mississippi stretches clear of snow south of the Broadway grade crossing. Is the next stop for this line abandonment and the scrapper, or will a customer appear wanting rail service?
Photo Date:  12/10/2011  Upload Date: 12/11/2011 9:25:45 AM
Location:  Minneapolis, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  122   Comments: 0
Ragged Roadbed
Title:  Ragged Roadbed
Description:  A portrait of the CGW grade south of County Road 42 taken amidst a snow squall.
Photo Date:  1/14/2012  Upload Date: 1/15/2012 4:36:22 PM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  360   Comments: 0
Heap Of Earth
Title:  Heap Of Earth
Description:  Another view of the CGW grade south of County Road 42. Stunning to still see *anything* left from this poor railroad.
Photo Date:  1/14/2012  Upload Date: 1/15/2012 4:36:42 PM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  374   Comments: 0
I Can Just See The Headlight
Title:  I Can Just See The Headlight
Description:  For a mile or two south of 140th street, the CGW retains its track but it is out of service and overgrown to beat the band. It ends at County Road 42. Looking at this vista I captured during my snowy day visit, in my imagination I can just see the headlight of the first of six Chicago Great Western F-units on the point of a freight coming into the Twin Cities from Oelwein, Iowa...
Photo Date:  1/14/2012  Upload Date: 1/16/2012 5:30:48 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  543   Comments: 1
Curse You, CNW!
Title:  Curse You, CNW!
Description:  While the line here is out of service and overgrown to beat the band with trees for about a mile or so north towards the Pine Bend Refinery, this embankment marks the end of track on the CGW main line out of Saint Paul. Curse you, Chicago and North Western for wasting this line!
Photo Date:  1/14/2012  Upload Date: 1/14/2012 7:54:48 PM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
Categories: 
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Views:  371   Comments: 2
Guess The Scrappers Did Not Want This
Title:  Guess The Scrappers Did Not Want This
Description:  The CGW retains its rails out of service for a mile or so south of the Pine Bend refinery. Whatever the reason for why they remain, this stretch of Chicago Great Western mainline is wild and overgrown now. We are at the County Road 42 end of this bit of track that once saw six F-unit-led freight trains going north and south long, long ago.
Photo Date:  1/14/2012  Upload Date: 1/14/2012 8:18:23 PM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
Categories: 
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Views:  543   Comments: 5
This Was The Chicago Great Western
Title:  This Was The Chicago Great Western
Description:  Abandoned since 1984 with rails, ties, and ballast gone soon after, this is all that remains of the CGW in what is left of a cut south of County 42 in Rosemount.
Photo Date:  1/14/2012  Upload Date: 1/14/2012 8:08:04 PM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  334   Comments: 0
Voila!
Title:  Voila!
Description:  At first I did not know if I was standing on the old CGW or it was next to me things were so changed since 1984 at this location. When I saw the roadbed in the distance, I knew I was in a cut once made by the CGW!
Photo Date:  1/14/2012  Upload Date: 1/16/2012 5:07:33 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  351   Comments: 0
Forlorn Remains
Title:  Forlorn Remains
Description:  We are at the end of a cut now truncated by farm fields a mile or so south of County Road 42. Picture was taken amidst an intense snow squall. Man is it hard to tell the CGW once ran here.
Photo Date:  1/14/2012  Upload Date: 1/16/2012 5:07:55 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
Categories: 
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Views:  316   Comments: 0
More CGW Reminders
Title:  More CGW Reminders
Description:  More bits of railroad ties discarded and now moldy and forgotten along the CGW grade south of County Road 42.
Photo Date:  1/14/2012  Upload Date: 1/16/2012 5:03:28 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  328   Comments: 0
Where Did The CGW Grade Go?
Title:  Where Did The CGW Grade Go?
Description:  I took this from on the embankment of the intact portion of CGW grade on the north side of County 42 looking south. I do believe the right-of-way is in what appears to be a cut in the right-center of the picture.
Photo Date:  1/14/2012  Upload Date: 1/14/2012 8:07:46 PM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  380   Comments: 0
Wow!
Title:  Wow!
Description:  Bits of ties thrown away by the scrap crews that moved in after the line was abandoned in 1984 lie beside the right-of-way in the remains of a cut now largely decimated by the farmer's plow. This was a major "Wow!" find, for sure; I didn't expect to find any post-abandonment detritus along the chunks of former CGW grade that are left.
Photo Date:  1/14/2012  Upload Date: 1/14/2012 7:54:30 PM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  368   Comments: 0
"Arrest Me"
Title:  "Arrest Me"
Description:  "Arrest me," is what I thought as I disobeyed the sign to take a closer look at the end of CGW grade on the north side of County Road 42 amidst a snow squall.
Photo Date:  1/14/2012  Upload Date: 1/14/2012 8:18:04 PM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  428   Comments: 0
Another Boneyard Boxcar
Title:  Another Boneyard Boxcar
Description:  In another corner of Vics, here is another old boxcar on the grounds near the old Chicago Great Western grade. Wow!
Photo Date:  1/21/2012  Upload Date: 1/22/2012 7:15:33 PM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  440   Comments: 0
Yowza Again!
Title:  Yowza Again!
Description:  Heading northward along the CGW from the first spot I found a fragment of railroad tie, in a cut I came across another piece. This piece.
Photo Date:  1/21/2012  Upload Date: 1/22/2012 11:51:08 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  293   Comments: 0
I Did It!
Title:  I Did It!
Description:  A week previous I had walked up the CGW grade from the south at U More park until I reached a fence barely visible in the distant center of this photo past the yellow stick. A week later, I walked down from the north until I reached this same point. Arriba! Man I love train grade exploration. Too bad trains don't pass in sight of that U of M wind turbine; what a photo it would have made!
Photo Date:  1/21/2012  Upload Date: 1/22/2012 11:37:02 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  340   Comments: 0
Nothing Left But Visions
Title:  Nothing Left But Visions
Description:  The ragged CGW grade as it appears near the U of M's U More park in Rosemount. Even here I can see rails, ties, ballast ... and another northbound train from the CNW days approaching the camera.
Photo Date:  1/21/2012  Upload Date: 1/22/2012 11:32:07 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  343   Comments: 1
On The South Side
Title:  On The South Side
Description:  The overgrown heap of earth in the left-center is the CGW. The smooth slope coming up towards the camera is the start of a chunk of CGW grade south of County 42 (visible in the left-center just below the grade on the north side.)
Photo Date:  1/21/2012  Upload Date: 1/22/2012 11:10:55 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  324   Comments: 0
Northward View
Title:  Northward View
Description:  A view looking north from the south side of the S-curve along the CGW grade near U More park.
Photo Date:  1/21/2012  Upload Date: 1/22/2012 11:57:41 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  283   Comments: 0
Southward View
Title:  Southward View
Description:  Here is a view of the CGW grade south of County 42 in Rosemount. Touring this was a dream come true for me. I can just see the headlight of the lead F-unit of a northbound Chicago Great Western freight coming out of that cut in the distance ...
Photo Date:  1/21/2012  Upload Date: 1/22/2012 11:16:21 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  288   Comments: 0
Northward View Near County 42
Title:  Northward View Near County 42
Description:  Going back up the old CGW, here is a northward view of the grade a mile or so south of County Road 42. I can just see a six F-unit lashup toting a southbound CGW freight towards the camera ...
Photo Date:  1/21/2012  Upload Date: 1/22/2012 11:57:11 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  353   Comments: 0
Boneyard Boxcar
Title:  Boneyard Boxcar
Description:  An establishment named Vic's abuts the old CGW grade in Rosemount. Lo and behold: here is an old boxcar within sight of the right-of-way! It is almost like a monument to the trains that no longer pass through here.
Photo Date:  1/21/2012  Upload Date: 1/22/2012 7:14:12 PM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  572   Comments: 5
On The S-Curve
Title:  On The S-Curve
Description:  Here we are on the S-curve which can be found south of County 42 on the mile or two of Chicago Great Western grade south of that point. I can just see a northbound freight from the CNW days coming north towards the camera ...
Photo Date:  1/21/2012  Upload Date: 1/22/2012 11:28:27 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  297   Comments: 0
Railway Grade Beyond A Doubt
Title:  Railway Grade Beyond A Doubt
Description:  When walking in the cuts along the CGW here it is hard at first to tell you're on an old railway line. That is until you reach the likes of this S-curve, sitting buried in yet another blanket of snow in yet another Minnesota winter long after the rails went up. Note the wind turbine and chimneys at the U of M's U More park in the distance.
Photo Date:  1/21/2012  Upload Date: 1/22/2012 11:21:20 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  292   Comments: 0
Yowza!
Title:  Yowza!
Description:  I found this railroad tie fragment along the old CGW, still at the surface of the roadbed since it fell from a tie being plucked up by a wrecking crew in 1984-85.
Photo Date:  1/21/2012  Upload Date: 1/22/2012 11:45:05 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  321   Comments: 0
From Main Line To Dumping Ground
Title:  From Main Line To Dumping Ground
Description:  Once along this corridor trains thundered northbound and southbound in all their regal majesty. Today it is host to at least one piece of garbage. How far the mighty have fallen!
Photo Date:  1/21/2012  Upload Date: 1/22/2012 11:44:03 AM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  285   Comments: 0
Sad Sight
Title:  Sad Sight
Description:  Another view of the fragment of CGW grade that can be found on the north side of Highway 60 in Kenyon.
Photo Date:  3/3/2012  Upload Date: 3/6/2012 11:24:00 PM
Location:  Kenyon, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  138   Comments: 0
Vintage CNW Ballast
Title:  Vintage CNW Ballast
Description:  Track ballast leftover from the day the CNW pulled up the ties and rails can be found south of the whistle post on the CGW between 2nd and Main. What a treat!
Photo Date:  3/3/2012  Upload Date: 3/4/2012 9:10:20 PM
Location:  Dodge Center, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  87   Comments: 0
Torn Up Right Of Way
Title:  Torn Up Right Of Way
Description:  Thanks to a nearby business, the grade of the Milwaukee Road Zumbrota branch is all torn up before the line reaches the former crossing of Highway 56 and the old Chicago Great Western main line.
Photo Date:  3/3/2012  Upload Date: 3/6/2012 10:32:44 AM
Location:  Kenyon, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  108   Comments: 0
Whistle Post In Context
Title:  Whistle Post In Context
Description:  The intact concrete "whistle for crossing" post along the Chicago Great Western grade between 2nd and Main in its context. Note how the houses on both sides of the right-of-way are located the way it was when trains ran. Line seems almost like a de facto rail trail at this point.
Photo Date:  3/3/2012  Upload Date: 3/4/2012 9:00:41 PM
Location:  Dodge Center, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  142   Comments: 0
Hard To Tell This Was The Chicago Great Western
Title:  Hard To Tell This Was The Chicago Great Western
Description:  On the north side of Kenyon proper is this fragment of grade which can be found along a street named Mogren Hill. Hard to believe this was once the CGW; shame the Kansas City Southern never bought them and still ran trains through here to this day.
Photo Date:  3/3/2012  Upload Date: 3/6/2012 4:57:36 PM
Location:  Kenyon, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  101   Comments: 0
Chicago Great Woods
Title:  Chicago Great Woods
Description:  Man oh man did the old CGW main line sprout trees in the decades since the rails went up! Here we are looking north across Country Road 32 at a sizeable portion of grade that stretches north a couple miles from here.
Photo Date:  3/3/2012  Upload Date: 3/6/2012 11:10:49 PM
Location:  Dodge Center, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  83   Comments: 0
No More Thunder
Title:  No More Thunder
Description:  No longer do trains thunder south out of Kenyon down this right-of-way on the old Chicago Great Western main line to Iowa. Today, only weeds, tress, and trash like the tire in the center background can be found. We are looking north towards town from the site of the Milwaukee Road's bridge over the CGW carrying the rails of their branch to Zumbrota.
Photo Date:  3/3/2012  Upload Date: 3/4/2012 4:09:01 AM
Location:  Kenyon, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  87   Comments: 0
Hard To Tell It Was The Great Western
Title:  Hard To Tell It Was The Great Western
Description:  While the CGW is intact on the south side of Kenyon, on the north side it is cut up but good. Here is a small portion of grade that remains on the north side of Highway 60.
Photo Date:  3/3/2012  Upload Date: 3/6/2012 11:23:37 PM
Location:  Kenyon, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  63   Comments: 0
Sad Remains
Title:  Sad Remains
Description:  The sad remains of the CGW main line as it looks today right on the north side of where it crossed what now is the CP/DM&E; note the old tie with a tie plate and spikes still attached in the center foreground.
Photo Date:  3/3/2012  Upload Date: 3/6/2012 11:19:34 PM
Location:  Dodge Center, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  114   Comments: 0
Post-Abandonment Changes
Title:  Post-Abandonment Changes
Description:  The new residence at left has the former CGW in its front yard, serving as an access road to 2nd Street. Note how buildings on the right retain their railroad days alignment.
Photo Date:  3/3/2012  Upload Date: 3/4/2012 9:09:30 PM
Location:  Dodge Center, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  104   Comments: 0
In The Trees
Title:  In The Trees
Description:  Trees practically overwhelm the grade of the CGW main a block north of the former interchange with the C&NW Winona to Rapid City line (now CP/DM&E). Luckily, after a short detour paralelling the grade, I was able to climb back on during my stroll south. Would not want to try the same stunt in the summer, though!
Photo Date:  3/3/2012  Upload Date: 3/6/2012 10:43:52 PM
Location:  Dodge Center, MN
Author:  Richard Held
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Views:  77   Comments: 0


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