Northstar fans
View allAll Photos Tagged NORTHSTAR
Last night. 6x10-min. Exp. averaged and merged in-camera with multiple exp. mode. Enhanced in Adobe Lightroom. 14mm Rokinon F/2.8 manual lens. Milky Way is diagonally across frame.
West Hump got one westbound onto the Wayzata Subdivision and then lined up Northstar out of Stadium, holding TCW back at Rollins Avenue. This afforded me time to get over to CP Stadium proper for a nicely timed intercept of the St. Paul Turn heading back home.
Northstar 501 heads west to Big Lake in the last half hour before sunset. The days are getting long enough to see the first commuter train light. In a few more weeks, the second westbound train would be shootable. Pretty silly they only run two trains per direction on weekdays only, hopefully they get back on their feet eventually.
Beautiful green dragonfly among the reeds at the pond in NorthStar Park, which is quite the dragonfly hotspot in warm weather.
NorthStar Park, Davis, Ca. August 2019.
The second of two evening Northstar trains passes BNSF's Northtown yard seen here from the Saint Anthony Parkway Bridge.
Notice this second and last of the day's Northstar trains has the headlights dimmed. The train is inching forward drawing out the delay for this train that started around the Van Buren control point. For one reason or another, the train stopped and dropped off the conductor, who then proceeded to hustle up the tracks. Meanwhile, the train was staged in the perfect location for snapping all sorts of frames. I am unsure what the issue was overall, but 15-20 minutes was certainly added to the trip time.
The first of two afternoon Northstar commuter trains heads up on the BNSF Staples Subdivision to the stations between Fridley and Big Lake.
MNRX 501 leads the 5 o' clock Northstar departure out of Minneapolis using the last minute or two of light available for this day.
Fleet No.: 38209 - Limousine
Reg. No.: NYE 233
Manufacturer: Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp.
Model: Aero Queen M "Aero Panda"
Chassis: MS729S
Engine: Fuso 8DC11 (355hp)
*Specifications are subjected for verification and may be changed without prior notice.
**Former EMC unit
taken @ Northstar Terminal
*dumaan muna ko dito, bago ako nag Cubao hopping nung september 30.. hehe
Not exactly the awesome light that Tim Wakeman got for a shot of his here that I love but a nice afternoon for a pair of Ann Arbor GP35s on the Ann Arbor (Great Lakes Central)
Thanks Tim and thanks Steve!
Plate Number: BVF-488
Bus Number: 88088
Fare Class: Airconditioned
Engine: Nissan Diesel FE6C
Body: Santarosa Philippines EXFOH
Route: Jct. Luna-Cubao/Sampaloc/Fairview/Lagro via Tuguegarao/Cauayan
Date Taken: May 24, 2009
Location: Maharlika Highway, Tanza, Tuguegarao City
MNRX 501 & 504 double head the Twins Special out of the facility into Big Lake station for it's evening round trip to Target Field. The train wasn't a sellout by any means (given its Labor Day weekend and the last days of the State Fair), but it had a good fill of passengers from all the stops.
Northstar remains underutilized and underrated as it nears it's 15th birthday later this year. Things were looking good until Coronavirus changed everything.
Pre-2020, Northstar ran 5 or 6 rush hour trips each weekday morning and evening, and three spaced out runs on weekend days. Plus extra trips for concerts and sports games.
Now the train runs 3 times a day on weekdays and only runs on weekends to Twins and Vikings games. This train would be the only outing of the Northstar for the day with another Twins game the next day.
As a fan of passenger and commuter rail, I'd like to see Northstar live up to its potential with an extended route and a more convenient and flexible schedule, maybe someday. The run from Big Lake to Target Field is a fun trip, I often riding for the Twins games, but occasionally also for fun.
For you sports fans, the Twins had an abysmal performance on this day, being shut out 15-0 by Toronto.
Another odd fact, trailing unit 504 was featured in Dirty Jobs season 4 episode 5, "Locomotive Builder" when host Mike Rowe operated the locomotive at the MotivePower shops in Idaho before Northstar service commenced later that year in 2009. It's a good episode, personally.
For 15 years old, Northstar trains still look pretty snazzy, only minor changes over the years, including the plows losing their original red and white striping, and the engine numbers are no longer digitally displayed on the nose under the red T logo.
On a suggestion from Kevin Madsen I wound up at Indeed Brewing Company and found a better angle than I had expected.
With it's demise imminent I've been on a kick of shooting Northstar lately. Here's the second inbound train of the morning rolling around the Harrison Street wye seen from Milwaukee 261's parking lot.
A northbound Northstar train slows for the station stop at Anoka en route to Big Lake from downtown Minneapolis.