View allAll Photos Tagged lakestates
Soo Line train 19 has just left North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and is now cruising through farm country at Van Dyne on August 23, 1987. Power for the train is an amazing set of four EMD GP9s; Nos. 2550, 400, 411 and 4231, all chanting away on the main line to Neenah as seen from the overpass on the south side of town.
Led by Soo Line EMD GP9 No. 2402, a southbound Soo freight train 18 divides Allenton, Wisconsin, on the afternoon August 23, 1987.
South of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, a Soo Line freight attacks the grade up Byron Hill on March 22, 1987. This was in the colorful Lake States era on this portion of the original Soo Line, with this train rating two Soo GP9s and a leased Conrail GP35.
CP T07 wanders westbound for Toronto on the Kawartha Lakes railway also known as the Havelock Sub.
The worn down SOO 4410 on the point sporting its classlights and large plow with the red (now faded white) marked corners and 1 original numberboard. Being a Soo line modeler makes me notice these things pf.
Lake States number 12 is westbound out of Trout Lake with a fairly hefty train. GP30's 717 and 708 are notched up as they battle the grade near MP447 on August 17, 1987. Late evening clouds are rolling in and I barely got the shot off in sunlight. By the time 15 cars had went by me I was in cloud shadows. We had a pretty hefty rain shower about a hour earlier and it just made everything seem so vibrant that evening. Consists like this made the SOO/Lake States era spectacular. I posted a closer view of this train 4 years ago but actually like this shot better as it shows the grade out of town that westbounds faced much better..
I posted a shot of this pair working the Mead yard a long time ago so here's another view from July 7, 1987. 717 and 400 have finished there yard work and are starting to get a roll on Lake States train 12 at Trout Lake with 51 cars.
This shot is just under the wire for a 30 Thursday offering and the day I shot it I eeked out a little sunshine and the chances of SOO GP30's were also getting close to being over. 715 and 2405 head Lake States train 11 at Trout Lake with 43 cars on April 3, 1987.
LSRC Y505 backs its train under the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan on the day's first trip to Dunn Paper. The Blue Water Bridge, connecting Port Huron with Sarnia, Ontario, was designed by Polish-American engineer Ralph Modjeski and opened to traffic in 1938. The bridge was connected to the Interstate system in 1964 and a second span was opened in 1997.
LSRC Y505 switches Dunn Paper in Port Huron, Michigan on the mouth of the St. Clair River. Opened in 1924, the Dunn Paper mill in Port Huron is slated to shut down this November.
Milwaukee Road 165, CR 7784, SOO 2405 and 401 roll train 12 into a spring sunset crossing the Pine River at Rudyard in this shot from April 10, 1987.A rescan from 2016.
LSRC Y505 crosses the Black River over a 1929 GTW Scherzer rolling lift bridge after switching customers around Port Huron, Michigan.
It wasn't always dark and cloudy in my hometown, the last day of March 1987 train 11 works the Mead Landing at Trout Lake with 2405 and 706. I never minded living up here in the "sticks" but a few more trains and spring actually coming before mid-April -early May would be welcome. A rescan.
I posted a couple views of this train a few years ago, I hate to be repetitious but in this case why not? SOO/Lake States 12 is doubling together there 85 car train at Gladstone on March 22 ,1987 and soon 731, 626 and 706 will be leaving for Shawano and beyond to N Fond du Lac.
LSRC Y505 comes alive on a frigid Sunday morning as it backs its train across Port Huron, Michigan towards Dunn Paper on one of the oldest ex-GTW lines in Michigan.
After overextending themselves acquiring Milwaukee Road, Soo Line established a wholly-owned division called Lake States Transportation Division on February 10, 1986, to operate its mostly former Soo Line trackage in Wisconsin and prepare it for sale. With this move, older locomotives and some leased power began to be much more common on these lines. On March 22, 1987, a southbound Soo Line (Lake States) freight climbs to the top of Byron Hill at Byron, Wisconsin, powered by two Soo EMD GP9s and a leased Conrail EMD GP38.
A trio of Milwaukee Road locomotives, led by EMD SD40-2 No. 146, leads Lakes States (Soo Line) train 18 at Brookfield, Wisconsin, on the morning of June 13, 1987. The train is passing a mishap to the right, and the scene does have a ‘Milwaukee Road ills at the end’ look even though it’s now technically Soo. The boxcar to on its side is likely due to the bad condition of the track in the siding and crossover switch, combined with a little too much speed rolling through it. With the car clear of the track, its back to business and clean up the mess later.
Lake States Transportation Division was set up by the Soo Line to spin off some of its system, much of it former Soo Line main lines and branches, after the Milwaukee Road merger on January 1, 1986. Most of these lines became Wisconsin Central on October 11, 1987.
The trackage going off to the left is the junction switch for the Milwaukee line to Waukesha, Milton Junction and Janesville. By the time of this photograph, portion of this route from Brookfield to Waukesha was out-of-service and red flagged.
SOO/Lake States train 12 zips along near Dafter with 716 and 4227 leading 33 cars on the evening of April 27, 1987. Looking back at this it is hard to imagine the SOO would be gone from the Upper Peninsula in less than 6 months from the date of this shot. I'm running a few hours later than my normal Thirty Thursday posting but I guess the main this is I'm still running:)
Soo Line train 17 crests Byron Hill south of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, on the afternoon of June 6, 1987. Leading the train is Soo Line EMD SD39 No. 6241 with nose lettering for short-lived Lake States, which was set up by Soo to facilitate spinning off a portion of the railroad to a regional carrier. The locomotive is former Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern blue SD39 No. 41.
With a light pall of exhaust laying down over the power, Soo Line train 19 marches into Van Dyne, Wisconsin, on the sunny, late afternoon of August 2, 1987. Powered by Soo EMD GP30 Nos. 700 and 716, sandwiching GP9 Nos. 4230 and 411, the Lake States era on the old Soo main line was a lot of fun. Only a couple more months before Wisconsin Central, which was also very enjoyable!
I shot the hell out of this job late in the SOO's last winter. Hope no one is bothered seeing it again in a slightly different view. It is 30 Thursday and I've gotten behind scanning fresh material as all I do is work about 18 hours a day. SPRING can't get here soon enough and I hope weather doesn't resemble this in April this year. 715 and 2405 lead 43 cars of Lake States train 11 on April 3, 1987.
After the MILW buyout the SOO seldom choose to send these ex MILW Geep rebuilds into the Upper Peninsula. I can't recall more than a dozen sightings of these units from the time of the MILW purchase to the end of SOO operations up here. Anyway in a rare appearance 962 leads SOO 4225 and 408 on train 12 at Soo yard as the wait for customs clearance on May 5, 1987.
Soo Line train 17 is crossing the east siding switch at March, Wisconsin, on the afternoon of April 17, 1987. The train is powered by a pair of Soo EMD GP30s, along with a leased Conrail EMD GP38 that is still in Penn Central black.
April can be many things up here and even though most places are well into spring we often are not. Lake States train 11 has arrived at Trout Lake with 43 cars on April 3, 1987 and one member of the crew struggles to get a switch on the right so 715 and 2405 can start to work there set out while the Trout Lake MOW crew is on the left heading over to clean switches on that side of the yard. Shooting on snow with such a bright spring sun was truly a bit of a challenge and I should have went up an f-stop from normal but Lightroom fixed my error with a minimum of fuss. It's Thirty Thursday!
It's Thirty Thursday so today I'll feature SOO 717 pouring out the smoke as it climbs away from the St. Marys River near Dafter on Lake States train 12 leading 708 and 51 cars on August 17, 1987.
The doomed Lake States experiment is only a couple months from being over but there still a little time left to catch the SOO in the Soo. Back to back GP30's 717 and 708 are just clearing the west yard limits of Soo Yard with a heavy for the era 51 car train 12. The old 30's are black at the stack and I'm happy to be deadheading a truck to Trout Lake so I can turn this ride home into a fantastic sun filled chase. Speed was limited to 10mph coming over the first three crossings as you departed Soo yard the last of which I'm standing on for this shot and seeing me flagging traffic the hogger decided to get rolling a little before he'd occupied the crossing. A rescan.
SOO 701 and 711 back around the SW wye as they get ready to depart Trout Lake for Marquette on February 22, 1987.
SOO remain 12 heads out of Trout Lake with 724 and 4232 leading only 35 cars. The two tired GP's look like they have 10,000 tons by the amount of smoke there pumping out.
After walking the brake test the head brakie is making his way to the cab as SOO/Lake States train 12 is ready to roll at Soo yard. 715 and 706 have 55 loads in tow on April 6, 1987.
Lake State MP15AC 1501 (ex-UP/MKT) switches a paper mill at Port Huron as viewed from the upbound footer Walter J. McCarthy Jr.
This is a rescan of one of my earliest flickr postings and I always liked the way this shot gave a feeling of power and speed. 704, 404, 401 and the trailing 57 cars of Lake States train 12 scream around the curve at Kinross on August 29, 1987. I followed this job right out of SOO yard all the way until sunset near Caffey getting it in about a dozen locations.
SOO/Lake States train 12 works through the yard at Trout Lake on May 15, 1987. 707, CR 7815 and 408 have about 25 cars strung out on track #2 and around the NW wye. Except for the 8 "Meads" on the head pin the rest of the traffic came off the Marquette line. The remainder of there train is sitting east of the M-123 crossing on the SOO main which is the far right track in this photo. It is THURSDAY:)!
I shot more than a few trains on this bridge just west of Rudyard where Soo Line and later WC crossed the Pine River. In this view Lake States train 11 heads east with 706 and 401 leading 28 cars on March 21, 1987.
SOO/Lake States train 12 has done the air test and cleared customs on April 6, 1987 at Soo Yard. The pair of vintage 30's providing this evenings power are just set to start to work getting the 55 loads and 0 empties rolling towards Gladstone. 715 and 706 will head into the rapidly sinking early spring sun and I'll follow west until Trout Lake only getting a couple shots before darkness overtakes us. I posted a similar shot a couple years ago but you just can't have to many 30 shots.
We often get snow in April, way to often for my liking:)! It's hard shooting with the brightness that reflects off the snow due to the much higher intensity of the sun in comparison to mid-winter. SOO/Lake States train 11 works the Mead landing at Trout Lake with 2405 and 715 on April 4, 1987. After completing there yard work the units will tie on to the remaining 43 cars of there train and soon depart for Soo yard.
Amtrak’s westbound Empire Builder passes Soo Line train 17 at Duplainville, Wisconsin, on the afternoon of June 6, 1987. Leading train 17 is a former Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern EMD SD39, as Soo acquired MN&S Nos 40-41 in the 1982 purchase of the railroad. After overextending themselves acquiring Milwaukee Road, Soo Line established a wholly-owned division called Lake States Transportation Division on February 10, 1986, to operate its mostly former Soo Line trackage in Wisconsin and prepare it for sale. With this move, older locomotives and some leased power began to be much more common on these lines. Soo Line No. 6241 was the only locomotive that featured “Lake States” lettering on its nose.
Deep in the Lake States era on the SOO getting a Dash 2leading the evening train out of Soo Yard was always a bit of a disappointment....I could stand plenty of disappointments like this nowadays. MILW 158 leads SOO 2408 and the 50 cars of train 12 west as they sail by the boarded up depot at Rudyard on July 16, 1987. The SOO had less than 3 months left in the Upper Peninsula.
During the summer of 2016 I was able to take place in a night photo session on the Lake State Railroad. Thanks to the management and employees of the Lake State Railroad and of course to those that were able to line this up. It was a fun time by all.
Backing away from the fueling rack on the roundhouse lead on June 26, 1987 is the power for SOO/Lake States train 12. The train is made up in the yard and after backing up to the depot/yard office to grab there orders along with the conductor and rear brakie the 705 and 2553 will make there way westbound down the ex DSS&A main dropping the rear end crew at the caboose and then proceed to the west end of the yard where they will cross over to the SOO main and back up to there freight to do the air test and await customs clearance. If everything goes well the 705 should be leading the way out of town into the sweet evening light in about 45 minutes.
LSRC Y505 makes its second trip to Dunn Paper on a Sunday morning with a Canadian Coast Guard cutter making its rounds on the right on Lake Huron.
Lake States number 12 is westbound out of Trout Lake with a fairly hefty train. GP30's 715 and 708 are notched up as they battle the grade near MP447 on August 17, 1987. Late evening clouds are rolling in and I barely got the shot off in sunlight. By the time 15 cars had went by me I was in cloud shadows. We had a pretty hefty rain shower about a hour earlier and it just made everything seem so vibrant that evening. Consists like this made the SOO Lake States era spectacular.
Lake State's Wixom Turn, running as Y110-21, rolls past Pere Marquette-era CTC at the north end of Clyde with a pair of matching former SD40s in the lead.
SOO/Lake States train 11 calls at Trout Lake on April 1, 1987 with 2405 leading leased CR GP38's 7786 and 7784 along with 18 cars. April can be a cruel month in the upper peninsula with snowstorms lasting well into the month. Some years it doesn't feel like spring will ever come. A rescan.
It wasn't speed that Hiawatha was used to but Lake States train 12 is blowing past the boarded up depot in an hurry on August 8, 1987 at Rudyard. The 187 and 4232 have 31 cars of mainly newsprint and are kicking along at slightly over the authorized 40mph on the Soo Sub. In a couple hundred feet the train will slam over the Pine River bridge and lean into the sharp curve at the west end of the bridge while the hogger lays on the horn for the Highway 40 crossing. I'm getting all nostalgic but I sure miss the SOO, even this version of it. Hard to believe this was 31 years ago.
On August 25, 1987 the sun has nearly set as the crew wyes the power on SOO/Lake States train 12 at Trout Lake while they wait for train 11 to make its appearance so they can head for Gladstone. Oddly enough the high hood 4227 is being placed in the lead as the radio in MILW 192 had gave up the ghost on the trip out from Soo Yard. About the only traffic in the yard behind me on this day was a handful of gons at Mead and the short train 192 and 4227 had brought out from Sault Ste. Marie. With the sun nearly gone the rest of the action will take place after sunset.
Lake State Railway's Y126 turn heads back towards Saginaw as it passes an open field in the neighborhoods of south Bay City.
LSRC 6433 was formerly UP 4667, purchased by the Lake State in August 2022. LSRC now owns 7 ex-UP SD70Ms, though one (LSRC 6430) is used as a parts source.
LSRC Y126 19 (Saginaw to Bay City, MI and return)
LSRC SD70M #6433
LSRC SD50-3 #6356
LSRC Road Slug #303
LSRC GP40M-3 #4303
LSRC GP40M-3 #4308
Bay City, MI
September 19th, 2023
Running a little later than usual on a cool September evening, the Lake State's Y119 turn races south among soybean fields between Birch Run and Clio. With a long, heavy train this evening, this four-pack of six-axle units are working hard on the undulating terrain of central Michigan.
LSRC Y119 19 (Saginaw to Flint, MI and return)
LSRC SD70M #6431
LSRC SD70M #6433
LSRC SD50-3 #6356
LSRC SD40-2 #6304
Clio, MI
September 19th, 2023