11 Volume 42 Number 5 May 2011 Minnesota Railfans Association Trip to Elbow Lake, MN By Richard Prosser Soo Line Winnipeger behind Geep 551 at the Minneapolis Coach Yards. Photo by Joe Stark Contents Meeting Notice The May meeting of the Northstar Chapter of the NRHS will be held on May 21st at 7pm, at Roseville Lutheran Church at 1215 Roselawn Avenue, midway Officer Contact Directory P.2 between Lexington and Hamline Avenues in Directions to Roseville Lutheran Church P.2 Roseville. See map on following page. Minnesota Railfans Assoc. Trip to Elbow Lake P.2 Comeback Quickens for North American P.3 There will be a pre-meeting get-together at the Keys Streetcars Cafe and Bakery at the northeast corner of Lexington Minutes of the April 16th Membership Meeting P.5 and Larpenteur starting about 5:15 pm. IMPORTANT: Proposed Passenger Rail Projects P.6 PLEASE CALL Bob Clarkson at 651-636-2323 and for Minnesota leave a message with your name and the number of Minnesota Transportation Museum Train Strikes P.6 persons coming with you. Last minute walk-ins can sometimes be a problem. and Kills Trespasser On CP Rails From Railway Age Breaking News P.7 The chapter library mission statement will be dis- From Trains Newswire P.7 cussed. Railfan Calendar P.7 Northstar Chapter June Picnic Details P.8 Bill Herzog will present a slide show entitled “Rail- roads of the Early 90s - Something for Everyone.” 1 Northstar Chapter Officers Board of Directors Office Name Email Phone President Dawn Holmberg [email protected] 763-784-8835 Vice President H. Martin Swan [email protected] 612-961-1684 Past President Cy Svobodny [email protected] 651-455-0052 National Director Bill Dredge [email protected] 952-937-1313 Treasurer Dan Meyer [email protected] 763-784-8835 Secretary Dave Norman [email protected] 612-729-2428 Trustee Bob Clarkson [email protected] 651-636-2323 Staff Program Chairman Richard Tubbesing [email protected] 763-757-1304 Newsletter Editor Russ Isbrandt [email protected] 651-426-1156 Newsletter Production Richard Tubbesing [email protected] 763-757-1304 and Distribution Chapter Librarian / John Cartwright [email protected] 651-481-8479 Historian Webmaster Dan Meyer Website: www.northstar-nrhs.org Chapter Mail Box Northstar Chapter PO Box 120832 St. Paul, MN 55112 NRHS NOTE: Consult the website for any announcements regarding chapter activities including cancellation of any meeting for any reason, including weather. Newsletter deadline for submissions is the 2nd Saturday before the meeting. MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION Dues are $48 ($36 for the National dues and $12 for the local dues). Family memberships are $5 per person additional. The student rate is $22 ($16 for the National, $6 for the Northstar Chapter). If you want to join, an application is available at http:www.northstar-nrhs.org/. Print out this application and send it with a check made payable to “Northstar Chapter NRHS” to Northstar Chapter NRHS Membership Services, P.O. Box 120832, St. Paul, MN 55112. A subscription to this newsletter may be obtained for $15 for either printed or electronic edition by sending a check to the post office box above specifying the form of the newsletter you desire. A subscription does NOT include voting privileges at chapter meetings nor any of the NRHS membership benefits and no membership application is needed. Directions to Roseville Lutheran Church Minnesota Railfans Trip to Elbow Lake From the east and west take MN 36 to Lexington Avenue. By Richard Prosser Drive south on Lexington Avenue to Roselawn Avenue From the and turn right. The large lighted parking lot is on your right MRA Cinders and Sparks 1963 as you travel west on Roselawn. Use the lower entrance to the church and turn left through the commons area. MAJESTIC MIDNIGHTER MAGNIFIGENT We’ll be in room 40, the Diamond Room. It was a small band of MRA's heartiest members which assembled November 2, 1963 for the nocturnal outing to Elbow Lake. This was the first fantrip on the Soo since the winter safari to Duluth in early 1961. Three of the entourage of 19 boarded at St.Paul. After a quick run up the Milwaukee’s Short Line, the half-hour stop at Minneapolis allowed time to marvel at the Rock Island’s overnight to Kansas City, headed by a BL-2 an early Alco (sic), which departed at 8:25. Our own train was composed of F-unit 502A painted in a blah-ish solid maroon, GP 555 painted scantily, 4 standard headend cars, 2 coaches and a standard sleeper (all Soo) for Win- nipeg, and a baggage car and coach for Portal. About 8:50 pm we backed out to begin the Soo’s weird departure from Minneapolis (beside the GN Station on the M&St.L – NP. We were just speculating as to where 2 At 11:30 pm we reached Glenwood, where the "Elite" separates from the "Majestic". We found that, on the Glenwood train board the "Majestic" is still recognized by its original name “Mountaineer”. Many pictures were taken of the haunting midnight scene. About 12:00M the "Elite" hauled by the 555, departed. The 502A tied onto our 2 cars, and at 12:15 am the "Ma- jestic" was away west. The nonstop run to Elbow Lake consumed 38 miles of moonlit countryside punctuated occasionally by small-town lights, stark black grain eleva- tors, winking green train order boards, and one prairie or dump fire. We arrived a few minutes ahead of 1:00 am. The city had ignored our inquiries for a wee-hour supper, so Dick Prosser had finally written, intimating that we Rock Island BL-2, sister to the power observed by the MRA might stir up a storm during our visit . As a result, this was members on train 15 in Minneapolis at Rock Island’s 18th the first time MRAers had the honor of a police guard! St. Chicago engine terminal. Photo by Russ Isbrandt While we walked rather boisterously up town, the patrol car warily watched our every movement. The bus depot cafe kindly opened its doors, and soon our group was feasting on everything from bacon-and-eggs to ice cream. Dick provided supper music and more back at the station, where even the patrolman joined the group to await the eastbound No.14, down by 15 minutes. Soon its head- light came blazing through the ticket room window, a strik- ing sight. A blatant horn heralded a bright red-and-white GP at the helm. We quickly entrained for the return trip. The reassembly at Glenwood, a station stop at Paynes- ville, and a stop at Loretto for a wayward order board marked the return trip, which was spent mostly in sleep. A rosy dawn flecked with clouds was coming up over the deluxe Upper Harbor development as #10-14 swerved by the Minneapolis Post Office. —RSP Soo Winnipeger (that dark maroon line near the bottom of the photo) passing by the Minneapolis downtown post office on its way to the morning arrival at the Milwaukee Road Station. Photo from the Northstar Chapter Library Earl Bey was, when the train stopped just before the 1st Street North junction and a red-faced Earl came bustling aboard. He had missed the train at the Milwaukee Station so he flagged it with a horizontal (stop) wave at this point! The conductor managed to reconcile his count after some effort, and we were away again. It was agreed that Dick Prosser’s "request night" and sing-along would wait until we were further out of town. Conditions were ideal (full moon, clear sky, lights turned out) for a night ride on the "Elite” and "Majestic". Soon we lurched through the hamlet of Hamel, scene of the 1959 Soo Winnipeger at New Hope, MN. Photo Joe Stark derailment which spawned the names of "Elite" and "Ma- Comeback Quickens for jestic” for this train. Some MRAers took up posts at the rear door to watch rails in the moonlight, and the rear North American Streetcars trainman was very cooperative in answering questions. By Douglas John Bowen, What was the speed limit on the line? "Fifty-nine" he re- Managing Editor, Railway Age plied, then with a wink and a shrug, "But…..” From April 2011 Railway Age Magazine With Dick Prosser fulfilling requests on the violin, and Blinded by the bright spotlight (or flame-throwing going many talented voices blending in song, the time and miles back and forth) of debate over U.S. high speed rail pro- passed rapidly. posals, it's easy for many to miss a U.S. resurgence of passenger rail on a more local, intimate level: streetcars. Even regular fare patrons joined in the festivities. Sand- Cities that never fully surrendered their streetcar opera- wiches and cookies brought as a "hedge" against the un- tions—New Orleans and San Francisco come to mind— known at Elbow Lake were freely passed around. are now actively pursuing their expansion. Portland, OR, 3 expanding its leadership rail role established by its suc- nership arrangement, to address a university short- cessful MAX light rail system, continues to expand its her- age—and cement a ready ridership base. alded (and complementary) four-mile Portland Streetcar operation, which debuted in July 2001. Tacoma, WA, al- Arguments for some new-start streetcar systems often ready has its modest streetcar (sold originally as "light include a favorable price point comparison to larger and rail"), while bigger neighbor Seattle, new on the scene in more expensive LRT systems. But numerous cities are terms of both LRT and streetcars, is actively pursuing ex- advancing plans for streetcars in addition to (often exist- pansion of both.