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Tony Held's Collection
 
4/24/2024
 
 
 
 
  Viewing the last 200 photos I selected as my favorite Pictures.
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Truckless Boxcars
Title:  Truckless Boxcars
Description:  These truckless MNVA boxcars (which used to be the yard office?) remain at Morton. Note the snowplow at left.
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/15/2023 9:43:04 PM
Location:  Morton, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  RollingStock
Locomotives: 
Views:  18   Comments: 0
Vintage Grain Elevator
Title:  Vintage Grain Elevator
Description:  Farmers Co-Op Elevator Co. No 2 stands tall by the old Minneapolis & St. Louis in downtown Fairfax on a quiet Saturday afternoon.
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/15/2023 9:23:02 PM
Location:  Fairfax, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  24   Comments: 0
All Quiet On The Main
Title:  All Quiet On The Main
Description:  All was quiet on the main line of the old Louie down by the Fairfax depot on the afternoon of the first Saturday of August, 2023.
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/15/2023 9:20:49 PM
Location:  Fairfax, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Station,Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  24   Comments: 0
Closed For The Day
Title:  Closed For The Day
Description:  The Fairfax Depot Museum was, alas, closed when my friend Andy and I visited. The museum is currently open on Sunday afternoons, but as we visited on a Saturday due to the weather forecast, we had to miss out on touring the place.
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/15/2023 9:18:59 PM
Location:  Fairfax, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  29   Comments: 0
Love That Sign
Title:  Love That Sign
Description:  I love that "Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway" sign on the west end of the Fairfax depot. What a nice touch!
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/15/2023 9:22:28 PM
Location:  Fairfax, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  30   Comments: 0
Empty Grain
Title:  Empty Grain
Description:  A westbound empty grain train idles on the main line east of Franklin on a Saturday afternoon.
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/15/2023 9:28:10 PM
Location:  Franklin, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories: 
Locomotives:  TCWR 2301(GP39-2) TCWR 4302(GP30C)
Views:  39   Comments: 0
Majestic Span
Title:  Majestic Span
Description:  The main channel bridge over the Minnesota River at Morton quietly awaits the next train on a Saturday afternoon.
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/15/2023 9:42:31 PM
Location:  Morton, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Bridge
Locomotives: 
Views:  32   Comments: 0
Morton Shops
Title:  Morton Shops
Description:  The Morton shops were quiet as an empty park on this Saturday afternoon when my friend Andy and I swung by. Nice to see they're still in use.
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/15/2023 9:45:08 PM
Location:  Morton, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories: 
Locomotives: 
Views:  24   Comments: 0
MNVA Reminder
Title:  MNVA Reminder
Description:  "MNVA" stencils remain on one of the ends of a truckless boxcar at Morton, MN.
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/15/2023 9:43:44 PM
Location:  Morton, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  RollingStock
Locomotives: 
Views:  14   Comments: 0
Louie Monument
Title:  Louie Monument
Description:  The bridge over the Minnesota River at Morton dates back to the days of the Minneapolis & St. Louis. The span stands today as a proud monument to the Louie.
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/15/2023 9:41:25 PM
Location:  Morton, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Bridge,Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  38   Comments: 0
Forlorn Waycar
Title:  Forlorn Waycar
Description:  Twin Cities & Western's only (?) caboose looks moe forlorn than when I saw it last. What's this caboose's current status?
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/15/2023 9:49:27 PM
Location:  Morton, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  RollingStock
Locomotives: 
Views:  34   Comments: 0
Heading For The MPL
Title:  Heading For The MPL
Description:  The engineer aboard a westbound TC&W-crewed UP ethanol train bound for Wintrhop gets the train in motion again while a Twin Cities & Western pickup truck (at right) carries the train's conductor down to the switch for the Minnesota Prairie Line. There the conductor will unlock the switch and reboard the train, leaving the TC&W employee in the truck to close the switch once the train's last car has entered the MPL.
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/15/2023 8:52:57 PM
Location:  Norwood Young America, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Action
Locomotives:  CSX 7021(CM44AC) UP 7347(AC45CCTE) UP 3059(SD70AH-T4)
Views:  59   Comments: 0
Pausing At Tacoma
Title:  Pausing At Tacoma
Description:  The engineer aboard a westbound Twin Cities & Western-crewed Union Pacific ethanol train brings it to a stop at Tacoma Avenue late on a Saturday afternoon so the conductor can ride the TC&W pickup truck (bottom right) down to unlock the switch for the Minnesota Prairie Line.
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/15/2023 8:51:34 PM
Location:  Norwood Young America, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Action
Locomotives:  CSX 7021(CM44AC) UP 7347(AC45CCTE) UP 3059(SD70AH-T4)
Views:  53   Comments: 0
Still There
Title:  Still There
Description:  The U.S. Department of Transportation plates stamped "MNVA" still adorn the crossbucks at Park Avenue in Hamburg several years after I first saw them there.
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/8/2023 8:29:13 PM
Location:  Hamburg, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories: 
Locomotives: 
Views:  27   Comments: 0
55 Miles From SPUD
Title:  55 Miles From SPUD
Description:  Back when the Minneapolis & St. Louis Morton Sub ran all tjhe way to Hopkins from its namesake town, you were 55 miles from St. Paul Union Depot at Hamburg. (My thanks to my friend Andy for this interesting tidbit.)
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/8/2023 8:29:51 PM
Location:  Hamburg, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories: 
Locomotives: 
Views:  22   Comments: 0
Passing The Station Sign
Title:  Passing The Station Sign
Description:  A westbound ethanol train with a friendly hogger aboard (he tooted the horn on his run-through CSX leader when he saw my buddy Andy and I watching the train pass) fills Hamburg with late afternoon thunder as it passes the station sign while bound for Winthrop.
Photo Date:  8/5/2023  Upload Date: 8/8/2023 8:27:16 PM
Location:  Hamburg, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Action
Locomotives:  CSX 7021(CM44AC) UP 7347(AC45CCTE) UP 3059(SD70AH-T4)
Views:  41   Comments: 0
Hail The Rock Island!
Title:  Hail The Rock Island!
Description:  The Rock Island logo and "Faribault" station sign adorn the north side of The Depot Bar and Grill, located right next to the patio, which in turn is next to the Spine Line. To think The Rock lives again as a short line in Mississippi! That would be something worth hoisting a beer or two for at the Depot. :-)
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 8/4/2023 8:37:41 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  31   Comments: 0
"Great Weedy" All Over Again
Title:  "Great Weedy" All Over Again
Description:  This piece of former Chicago Great Western track curves into and ends at Faribault Foods. What was once the main line is now occupied by a short trail north of here, complete with two trestles over the Cannon River. Progressive Rail has moved shipments for Faribault Foods down to the Faribault Industrial Park, though this piece of the "Great Weedy" seems to be safe regardless.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 8/4/2023 8:15:49 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  46   Comments: 0
"Great Weedy" Redux
Title:  "Great Weedy" Redux
Description:  The east end of the surviving stretch of Chicago Great Western track curves eastward past Second Avenue Northwest down by Faribault Foods. The weeds along the line call the CGW's "Great Weedy" nickname to mind.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 8/4/2023 8:15:23 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  41   Comments: 0
Where A Signal Once Stood
Title:  Where A Signal Once Stood
Description:  West of the old CGW/MILW crossing is this base for a signal which once guarded the crossing.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 8/4/2023 8:17:31 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Signal
Locomotives: 
Views:  32   Comments: 0
Dig That Sign!
Title:  Dig That Sign!
Description:  The Depot Bar and Grill sure has a snappy, Rock Island-themed sign. Nice touch, man.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 8/4/2023 8:19:34 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  23   Comments: 0
"Athens Of The West", Hey?
Title:  "Athens Of The West", Hey?
Description:  This snappy, Rock Island-themed mural on The Depot Bar and Grill proclaims Faribault as the "Athens of the West."
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 8/4/2023 8:17:54 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  35   Comments: 0
All Quiet On The Spine Line
Title:  All Quiet On The Spine Line
Description:  The Spine Line was all quiet when my friend Andy and I visited Faribault on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend 2023. Here we are looking north from The Depot Bar and Grill towards the Straight River bridge.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 8/4/2023 8:10:58 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Bridge,Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  32   Comments: 0
The Depot on a Sunday Afternoon
Title:  The Depot on a Sunday Afternoon
Description:  Apparently The Depot Bar and Grill, operating out of the old Rock Island depot on the Spine Line, isn't open Sundays. At least it wasn't open on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend 2023, when my friend Andy and I paid a visit. No matter. The station was as cool as ever.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 8/4/2023 8:10:24 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Station,Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  36   Comments: 0
An Alco Line Catch At Last!
Title:  An Alco Line Catch At Last!
Description:  I'd frequently failed to catch anything on the old Alco Line between Owatonna and Rochester for years until, at last, this golden oldie fell into my hands. The unit was apparently being used for switching at Claremont's ethanol plant, Al-Corn Clean Fuel. This baby is my first "tunnel motor" in quite awhile too.
Photo Date:  7/15/2023  Upload Date: 7/18/2023 9:02:02 PM
Location:  Claremont, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Roster
Locomotives:  NPR 2852(SD40T-2)
Views:  39   Comments: 0
Waiting On A Hazy Evening
Title:  Waiting On A Hazy Evening
Description:  An ex-UP SD40T-2 waits down by the ethanol plant on a quiet, hazy Saturday evening in Claremont.
Photo Date:  7/15/2023  Upload Date: 7/18/2023 9:01:35 PM
Location:  Claremont, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Roster
Locomotives:  NPR 2852(SD40T-2)
Views:  30   Comments: 0
Revival Delayed
Title:  Revival Delayed
Description:  A shipper was about to have Progressive Rail transport aggregate from down by the old Milwaukee Road depot when, alas, the COVID pandemic struck and put paid to that customer. The tracks were being groomed for revival, but now the weeds have returned. Hopefully that shipper will try again soon, reviving these old Milwaukee rails.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/18/2023 9:09:08 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Station,Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  40   Comments: 0
I Did It Again
Title:  I Did It Again
Description:  When I first visited Faribault's Milwaukee Road depot in the summer of 1995, I was so taken by the name stamped on the platform's bricks that (to my brother's bemusement!) I snapped a picture. Revisiting the depot with my railfan friend Andy in 2023, I snapped another photo of these bricks, because I'd forgotten the name stamped on them: Flint Co. That brickmaker sure took pride in its work, no?
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/18/2023 9:09:43 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  25   Comments: 0
Hey, That's My Name!
Title:  Hey, That's My Name!
Description:  Always nice to see my name on a train station. :-) (Faribault's former Milwaukee Road depot, in this case.)
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/18/2023 9:10:33 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  21   Comments: 0
Milwaukee Depot On A Sunday
Title:  Milwaukee Depot On A Sunday
Description:  Faribault's Milwaukee Road depot was decked out for the Memorial Day weekend on a pleasant late May Sunday when my railfan friend Andy and I paid a visit.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/18/2023 9:08:23 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Station
Locomotives: 
Views:  11   Comments: 0
Big Grain Train On The Old Great Western
Title:  Big Grain Train On The Old Great Western
Description:  Awaiting a post-weekend crew, a big grain train bound for the loading facility at Randolph waits beneath mild skies on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend 2023.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/11/2023 8:37:50 PM
Location:  Waterford, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories: 
Locomotives:  UP 8019(AC45CCTE) UP 5611(AC44CWCTE)
Views:  55   Comments: 0
Big Power On The CGW
Title:  Big Power On The CGW
Description:  Two big GEs sit on the point of a parked empty grain train bound for Randolph for loading once the weekend was over. Who could have guessed that the rickety former Chicago Great Western rails here would one day be spruced up so good, big motive power could traverse them?
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/11/2023 8:37:03 PM
Location:  Waterford, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories: 
Locomotives:  UP 8019(AC45CCTE) UP 5611(AC44CWCTE)
Views:  54   Comments: 0
Uncle Pete And Dame's Rocket
Title:  Uncle Pete And Dame's Rocket
Description:  My railfan outing companion Andy pointed out the Dame's Rocket (right foreground) floruishing along the old CGW and encouraged me to snap a photo of them, so I worked some of those flowers into this shot of the tail end of an empty Uncle Pete grain train awaiting to be crewed and loaded at Randolph after the weekend was over.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/11/2023 8:35:16 PM
Location:  Waterford, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Scenic
Locomotives:  UP 5393(AC45CCTE)
Views:  24   Comments: 0
Uncle Pete On The CGW
Title:  Uncle Pete On The CGW
Description:  The trailing unit on a parked empty Union Pacific grain train awaiting a post-weekend Progressive Rail crew sits powered down on what was once the Chicago Great Western's route to Red Wing.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/11/2023 8:34:47 PM
Location:  Waterford, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories: 
Locomotives:  UP 5393(AC45CCTE)
Views:  27   Comments: 0
To The South
Title:  To The South
Description:  A look to the south from up in the yard on Memorial Day weekend 2023. The CGW's main line occupied the area where the blue building at left now stands.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/11/2023 9:06:47 PM
Location:  Randolph, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Yard
Locomotives: 
Views:  29   Comments: 0
Quiet Yard On A Sunday Afternoon
Title:  Quiet Yard On A Sunday Afternoon
Description:  All was quiet at the former Chicago Great Western yard in Randolph on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend 2023. The yard is now half the size it once was, but that hasn't impeded current operator Progressive Rail any in breathing new life into this spot on the old Great Western.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/11/2023 8:22:11 PM
Location:  Randolph, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Yard
Locomotives:  PGR 74(SW1500)
Views:  49   Comments: 0
Nice Milepost
Title:  Nice Milepost
Description:  Progressive Rail has installed some classy mileposts along the old Chicago Great Western between Northfield and Cannon Falls. This one can be found in Waterford, near a public works building.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/11/2023 8:32:18 PM
Location:  Waterford, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories: 
Locomotives: 
Views:  16   Comments: 0
"Hello Highway Man"
Title:  "Hello Highway Man"
Description:  A roster shot taken from a low angle reveals how majestic this unit can look. And that sign sure is bold advertising!
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/11/2023 8:29:38 PM
Location:  Randolph, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Roster,Yard
Locomotives:  PGR 74(SW1500)
Views:  160   Comments: 1
Still Stationed On The Old Great Western
Title:  Still Stationed On The Old Great Western
Description:  PGR 74 remains stationed on the old Chicago Great Western at Randolph, a sleepy town whose railway scene Progressive Rail is dynamically turning around. This scene is from Memorial Day weekend 2023.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/11/2023 8:28:28 PM
Location:  Randolph, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Roster,RollingStock,Yard
Locomotives:  PGR 74(SW1500)
Views:  59   Comments: 0
A Still Standin' CGW Depot
Title:  A Still Standin' CGW Depot
Description:  The Randolph depot is "still standin' after all this time" as Sir Elton John sang. Now a private residence, the station was surrounded by a sea of quiet on Memorial Day weekend 2023.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 7/11/2023 8:21:51 PM
Location:  Randolph, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Station,Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  26   Comments: 0
Waiting Interchange
Title:  Waiting Interchange
Description:  A string of interchange cars waits on Nesbitt Yard's lone siding late on a stormy Saturday afternoon. Note the pronounced dip between main line and siding. Not sure if these cars were bound for Progressive Rail or going out on CPKC.
Photo Date:  6/24/2023  Upload Date: 6/25/2023 9:12:05 PM
Location:  Bloomington, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  RollingStock,Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  23   Comments: 0
The Old MN&S Main
Title:  The Old MN&S Main
Description:  The old Minneapolis, Northfield, and Southern main line south of Old Shakopee Road has the aura of days gone by hanging over it late on a stormy Saturday afternoon.
Photo Date:  6/24/2023  Upload Date: 6/25/2023 9:11:21 PM
Location:  Bloomington, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  38   Comments: 0
New Sign
Title:  New Sign
Description:  Nesbitt Yard (well, a siding, but that's enough to call it a yard if it's an interchange point) now sports a new sign for Can Pac Casey for motorists on Old Shakopee Road to see.
Photo Date:  6/24/2023  Upload Date: 6/25/2023 9:10:45 PM
Location:  Bloomington, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Yard
Locomotives: 
Views:  40   Comments: 0
Just Gotta Get Both
Title:  Just Gotta Get Both
Description:  Even with an ominous storm looming up from the southwest, I just had to get a short of both the Union Pacific units I found at Roseport this day. Here they sit on a spur track off the old Chicago Great Western main as the skies darken above, portending much-needed rain.
Photo Date:  6/24/2023  Upload Date: 6/25/2023 9:10:22 PM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories: 
Locomotives:  UP 1714(SD40N) UP 1736(SD40N)
Views:  59   Comments: 0
The Depot At Last!
Title:  The Depot At Last!
Description:  I've long wanted to photograph the Roseport depot, having seen it in other railfan's photographs. At last, late on a Saturday afternoon that had a storm looming up from the southwest (visible in the upper right corner), I finally got my own shot of the depot. The parked Uncle Pete units was a nice touch.
Photo Date:  6/24/2023  Upload Date: 6/25/2023 9:09:36 PM
Location:  Rosemount, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Station
Locomotives:  UP 1714(SD40N) UP 1736(SD40N)
Views:  58   Comments: 0
CPKC Northfield Run
Title:  CPKC Northfield Run
Description:  The CPKC's Northfield run sits beneath sunny skies while the crew apparently was out to lunch on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend 2023.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 6/23/2023 12:50:09 PM
Location:  Northfield, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Yard
Locomotives: 
Views:  23   Comments: 0
PGR And CPKC
Title:  PGR And CPKC
Description:  Progressive Rail's Northfield-based power sits either at rest or stored at left while CPKC's Northfield Job cools its wheels on the beauteous Sunday of Memorial Day weekend 2023.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 6/23/2023 12:53:53 PM
Location:  Northfield, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Yard
Locomotives:  ILSX 1401(GP15-1) PGR 40(SD39) CP 5020(SD30C-ECO) CP 5022(SD30C-ECO)
Views:  117   Comments: 0
Northfield Power Closeup
Title:  Northfield Power Closeup
Description:  A closeup view of the Can Pac Casey's Northfield power reveals how clean these beauties are.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 6/23/2023 12:53:03 PM
Location:  Northfield, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Yard
Locomotives:  CP 5020(SD30C-ECO) CP 5022(SD30C-ECO)
Views:  40   Comments: 0
Diamond Detail
Title:  Diamond Detail
Description:  A detail shot of the old Milwaukee Road/Chicago Great Western diamond on Faribault's north side. The fact on Progressive Rail operates here has kept this diamond in good shape.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 6/23/2023 12:43:01 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  52   Comments: 0
The Milwaukee/Great Western Diamond
Title:  The Milwaukee/Great Western Diamond
Description:  The old Milwaukee Road/Chicago Great Western diamond soaks up the sun on the tranquil Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend 2023.
Photo Date:  5/28/2023  Upload Date: 6/23/2023 12:42:08 PM
Location:  Faribault, MN
Author:  Tony Held
Categories:  Track
Locomotives: 
Views:  69   Comments: 0


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