The Royce Files

I found some additional photos of the BNSF 1885, a SD40-2 with a snoot nose that plies the yard in Fargo and occassional pulls a train west and visits Northtown Yard. That distinctive snoot and blueboonet  freightbonnet* Santa Fe scheme makes it easy to spot. I think I took these from Great Northern Drive near the throat of the yard.  Formerly SF 5121 and then BNSF 6805 after the merge. Built in November  1979 with builder number  786223-7. On the Santa Fe this engine saw time out west in California then made its way to the Midwest in the early 2000s and then to Minnesota and North Dakota around 2010. Sometime between spring 2019 and Fall of 2021, the BNSF 1885 was repainted in what looks like the H4 scheme (see here  BNSF 1885 in Oct 2021 ). Looks like they added an air conditioning unit or two too. From the angle of the photo I cannot tell if they reduced the nose size as well. *It came to my attention that bluebonnet was a color scheme only on passenger engin...

Hustle Muscle GN 400 Wow. I cannot believe it has been over a year since the last post. And double wow, what a year it has been and now continues to be -except for all the masks. But now for the trains. Last year Fargo hosted the Great Northern Historical Society's annual convention. The organization brought their prized asset Hustle Muscle GN 400, the first SD45 produced by EMD. Some major maintenance was completed on the historic SD45 in February 2019. From what I recall it needed a new diesel engine. I believe it was thought Hustle Muscle might have been out of service for quite some time. Then BNSF stepped up with some shop help to get the engine back in service. Like many of the 1st and 2nd generation diesels, Hustle Muscle's cab is pretty spartan:a control panel, brake and a throttle. Yes there is also a horn and a seat. I don't recall seeing the bathroom. But then there is also this control panel on the rear of the cab. Rear Control Panel in Hustle ...

I passed through the old Fargo Great Northern yard en route to marathon activities and noticed a blue big nosed diesel with Santa Fe markings intact and a patched number 1885. According to online sources the 1885 is a SD40-2. 2 different SD40-2s It is working in with another SD40-2 in the H3 paint without a long nose. 1788 had been in the Burlington Northern colors up to around 2016 when it got new paint.  Both these engines have seen local service in the Fargo region going back and forth from the Fargo Yard to Dilworth and occasionally out to Jamestown on the former Northern Pacific line. Previously, both saw time around of the Twin Cities area. 

It was a frigid Saturday in early December, but I got the family out of the house for a little under an hour to meet Jolly St. Nick outdoors by the old Great Northern depot in Fergus Falls. Otter Tail Valley railroad is own by short liner Genesee and Wyoming via their purchase of Rail America back in 2012. You can see the RailAmerica paint on the GP9 diesel. Caboose OTVR 101 with OTVR 1483 Caboose was posed with the Geep for the Santa Train festivities. The caboose formerly ATSF (aka Santa Fe). The caboose is typically parked nearby the depot or further down the tracks near some maintenance facilities.   For a cold day there were plenty of youngsters out to meet Santa. In fact there was a line. GP9 in RailAmerica paint OTVR 1483 is a GP9 originally ordered by Nickel Plate . Built in 1959 it went through a few different owners prior to coming to the Otter Tail in 1997 including Norfolk and Western and Dakota Minnesota and Eastern.

  At the Lake Region Pioneer Threshermen's grounds in Dalton, MN there is about a mile long loop of narrow gauge track on which a French steam engine rides.You can also see the old Dalton Great Northern Depot on the grounds. Inside the depot I found this old Great Northern Calendar. Fargo does not do much to mark Train Day despite it being a town that's existence is due largely to the railroads. Quite a bit of rail traffic rolls through this corridor especially the oil trains from western North Dakota. I found another place to watch for trains in town although I do not know how busy the tracks are. Just west of NDSU are the old Great Northern yards. There is a lonely road across from the airport that gives a great view of outgoing trains. Too bad the Northern Pacific historical society doesn't run a steam excursion up here.

BNSF Hoppers sitting still in Fargo There will be plenty of people out for National Train Day in Fargo. Most of them will be running in the Fargo Marathon. And no trains will delay the races. Those spectating the runners from downtown Fargo can watch trains too. There are 2 ideal spots. On the north end of downtown off of Broadway is the old Great Northern Depot (now Great Northern Cycles). Tracks run adjacent to the depot and there are a few places to sit. Mixed freight usually passes on this former Great Northern mainline.The Amtrak Station is just next door- but don't expect to see Amtrak during daylight hours. The Empire Builder stops in Fargo in the wee hours of the morning. On the south end of downtown at the corner of Broadway and Main is the Northern Pacific Depot. The depot is historic itself- it was designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert. The depot is adjacent to BNSF's mainline. Plenty of traffic runs through this corridor. These days you can see plenty ...