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are links to larger pictures |
| First is the RS-18u #1837. RS-18's are basically RS-11 units
built with a smooth featheredge on the nose and hood end instead of the notches
found on RS-11s .Here's a closeup of this Canadian only unit. RS-18's were
built only by the Montreal Locomotive Works, which licensed many ALCo model
designs and sold "straight" ALCo designs as well as their own
modified designs. The CP rebuilt most of their units during the 1980's, giving
us the designation RS-18u. |
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| Unfortunately for the photographers amongst us, the more interesting of
these two new units is hard to see. It's an M636 rebuilt with a Caterpillar
primer mover. I hope to get better pictures one of these days when this unit is
moved into a better location (or better yet, when repainted and operating on
the drag up Short Line hill). |
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note: taken on MNNR property with permission |
Big Units
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| "The Monster of the Midway", an M630 of CP heritage
seen here idling by the roundhouse. |
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| A former Santa Fe SF30C (rebuilt U36C). No. 50 is often paired with a pair
of Century units. |
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| Caterpillar powered, #71 is now out and about on the Commercial. This is
the former CP #4711, an MLW M636. |
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Medium Sized Engines
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| There are several ALCo C424 and C425 units on the
Commercial. #62 is one of the C-424's.
Some of the units remain in their former Green Bay & Western paint
scheme, although lettered for the MNNR on the cab.
For some time, the units were painted in a blue Minnesota Commercial scheme.
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| A rare beast is the RS-27, #316, seen here on the line down to the Pillbury
A Mill. |
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Switchers and other Small Engines
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| EMD is one of the minority builders represented on the
Commercial. SW1200 #100 is one of the longer term residents on the line.
But #302 is one of the original roster members of the Commercial. For a
time, the entire fleet of the Commercial consisted of 4 SW-1500's. Two were
traded to the WC for 3 C-424's, beginning the acquisition of the Midwest's
largest ALCo fleet.
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| Number 80 is another rarity in the United States. The RS-23
model was built only by MLW as a modification to the S-13 design. It's a 1000
HP switcher with road-switcher trucks.
This unit is often used on the Hugo turn, running nearly every Sunday
morning.
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| There are three GP-7's on the railroad. I believe all three are
ex-BAR units. Two are operable, and the third sits in the dead lines (used for
parts). |
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| This is an ex-GB&W chop-nosed RS-3, known to the Commercial
as an RS-20. |
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Visitors to the Midway Area
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| The Twin Cities & Western does a lot of interchange with the MNNR,
usually with cuts for the BN and WC, and sometimes for the UP.
These are former BN units, GP20C rebuilds with Caterpillar primve movers.
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Rusted to the Rails
There are a number of units that have been sitting in the Midway area, on the
storage tracks by the roundhouse, for quite some time now. Several of these
belong to the Gopher State Railway Museum. The Minnesota Transportation Musuem
used to have several pieces stored here as well. With the influx of new
locomotives for the MNNR proper, this space is needed and most of these units
should be moving elsewhere soon. |
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| There's a pair of Dofasco 3-axle trucks here now, that are new as of Sept.
12. I have no idea where they came from,. but all of the six-axle units the
MNNR had their trucks on. |
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This is an ex-CB&Q doodlebug, owned by the Minnesota Transportation
Museum.. This was the last CB&Q doodlebug in service, and possibly the last
one on any road, operating until 1967.
It's in pretty sorry shape, with a badly bent frame, but due to a
recent donation,
it will be moving to Jackson Street for repairs & restoration. |
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| This is a slug unit (traction motors but no prime mover of its own) of
unknown (to me) heritage. This may be rebuilt for use with one of the higher
horsepower MNNR units (3000 horsepower can be overkill for the slow speed
operations on this railroad). |
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Other Locomotives
I'll be adding pictures of other units in the days and weeks to come. If you
have photos you'd like to share, please let me know.
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From the Minnesota Commercial timetable of 1996, the full locomotive fleet
is as follows. The most recent acquisitions aren't included yet, as they're not
in Minnesota Commercial paint yet.
