The group that understands
You have to hand it to Steve Sandberg and the Friends of the 261 - he really understands what makes a train look cool for his passengers and photographers. Unlike virtually every other steam group, he leaves his auxiliary tender at home if he does not feel he needs it. He keeps his Milwaukee painted passenger cars up front and together because it looks better - I know he refused to put some private cars up front in spite of requests to do so because he felt it would spoil the look of the train. He even trotted out his "old" original MILW tool car out to add to the Milwaukee Road look. Imagine NS or UP steam programs playing such close attention to appearances - no way.
And to top it off for this weekend of 261 trips on the TC&W, he laid on two photo run bys for passengers - which is now becoming almost a lost art for main line steam in the 21st Century. Plus, the TC&W allowed the train to run down the old M&StL to Winthrop, Minn., the first steam here since 1950 or 51, and the first passenger train since 1960.
So here's the train blasting through Hamburg, Minn., on a perfect Oct. 9, 2016. I can remember chasing Minnesota Valley trains on this track in the 1980s at 5 mph - never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined a 4-8-4 running this route.
The group that understands
You have to hand it to Steve Sandberg and the Friends of the 261 - he really understands what makes a train look cool for his passengers and photographers. Unlike virtually every other steam group, he leaves his auxiliary tender at home if he does not feel he needs it. He keeps his Milwaukee painted passenger cars up front and together because it looks better - I know he refused to put some private cars up front in spite of requests to do so because he felt it would spoil the look of the train. He even trotted out his "old" original MILW tool car out to add to the Milwaukee Road look. Imagine NS or UP steam programs playing such close attention to appearances - no way.
And to top it off for this weekend of 261 trips on the TC&W, he laid on two photo run bys for passengers - which is now becoming almost a lost art for main line steam in the 21st Century. Plus, the TC&W allowed the train to run down the old M&StL to Winthrop, Minn., the first steam here since 1950 or 51, and the first passenger train since 1960.
So here's the train blasting through Hamburg, Minn., on a perfect Oct. 9, 2016. I can remember chasing Minnesota Valley trains on this track in the 1980s at 5 mph - never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined a 4-8-4 running this route.