Moonlight over Lombard: At 8:43 p.m. on the night of September 9, 2011, a BNSF coal train curves into Lombard, Montana, under a bright moon. Headlights of the westbound train lights up the rails of the main line and siding, as well as a pile of rail lying between. The train is about to rumble over the girder bridge spanning Sixteenmile Creek, probably more famous a few miles to the east where it once shared space with the Milwaukee Road through Sixteenmile Canyon. The vantage point for the photo is the long-abandoned grade of the Milwaukee.
Tags: BNSF MRL Montana Rail Link Lombard Canyon Lombard Montana Missouri River night train railroad MT moon moonlight clouds unit train coal train
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A BNSF coal train lights up the cliffs that tower above the Montana Rail Link main line at Lombard, Montana, on the evening of September 9, 2011 at 8:43 p.m. The last light of day slowly recedes in a western horizon as the headlights of the train lead the way through the increasing darkness of a serpentine canyon.
Tags: BNSF MRL Montana Rail Link Lombard Canyon Lombard Montana Missouri River night train railroad MT unit train coal train
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The glow of city lights reflects off low clouds as Wisconsin Central GP30 No. 711 sits at the west (north) end of Duplainville siding on the snowless night of December 30, 1994. Paired up with 711 is GP35 No. 723; both locomotives are of Soo Line heritage.
Tags: WC Wisconsin Central GP30 night December night Duplainville Wisconsin train railroad WI former Soo Line Duplainville siding
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As the crew eats at a local beanery at Little Lake, Michigan, the locomotives for the Chicago and North Western ore train bound for the dock at Escanaba, patiently wait in the siding during the twilight of October 18, 1986. At this point, C&NW ore trains were still being powered by the big ex-Norfolk and Western Alco C-628s, but they were in the twilight of their careers too.
Tags: C&NW Chicago and North Western Alco C-628 ore train twilight night Little Lake Michigan train railroad MI
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In the early 1990’s, Southern Pacific finally made it to Chicago by acquiring the bankrupt Chicago, Missouri & Western’s St. Louis to Chicago line and through trackage rights via BN. To advertise SP’s entrance to railroading’s Midwestern mecca, the railroad set up a publicity shot at Amtrak’s 18th Street Yard in downtown on July 17, 1992. They provided a new GP60, and wanted images that said “SP and Chicago.” Earlier in May 1992, SP also had a display train (also with new GP60s) at the same location to promote the new service.
Tags: SP Southern Pacific twilight dusk Chicago Skyline Sears Tower Chicago Illinois train railroad IL GP60 new locomotive Amtrak’s 18th Street Yard night SP’s new Chicago service
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