Today's Train of Thought- Hail Cobra! Jan 6th, 2014

Today's multimodal Train of Thought takes us to the windswept plains of North Dakota and features an Army veteran's life in a small town after retirement.



Manufactured starting in the late 1960s, the Bell AH-1F 'Cobra' helicopter was adopted by the US Army as an attack and ground support helicopter that saw service in Vietnam, Grenada, Panama and Desert Storm before being replaced by the Boeing AH-64 Apache in the mid 1990s. A number the militaries of allied nations still use the 'Cobra' to this day including Israel, Japan and some NATO members. While some Cobras were passed along to other countries once they became surplus, the US Forest Service also began using a number of Cobras re-fitted with thermal imaging and firefighting gear to combat wildfires out west.



And while the 1967-built AH-1F is seen off to the left in a wintry repose at a park in Lidgerwood, ND, railpictures.net contributor Bryant Kaden snapped this Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western freight as it trundles past in the background powered by a pair of SD45s of a similar vintage. The train is headed eastbound towards the Canadian Pacific interchange in Hankinson, ND. Lidgerwood was the westernmost point of the line when Soo Line predecessor Minneapolis & Pacific constructed it in 1886- work resumed in 1891 when the Minneapolis & Pacific was merged into the Minneapolis, St Pail and Sault St Marie Railway. By the early 1990s- when the US Army was phasing out the Cobra attack helicopters- the Soo Line was divesting themselves of branchlines throughout the Dakotas and sold hundreds of miles off to the upstart Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western.

Today's Train of Thought- Dr Livingston, I Presume? Jan 4th, 2013

Today's train of thought takes us to Big Sky country and features some oldies but goodies as well.

Sometimes known as 'The Main Street of Southern Montana', the regional railway Montana Rail Link boasts a fairly eclectic mix of motive power to this day. Started in the late 1980s, the Montana Rail Link started operations with the lease of nearly 900 miles of former Northern Pacific mainline between Sand Point, ID and Billings, MT from Burlington Northern. While the MRL handles forestry products, grain and gas, a good deal of the MRL's traffic base is simply overhead from BNSF between the midwest and ports and markets in the Pacific Northwest.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Mike Mautner caught a fairly odd and colorful assortment of motive power on Bozeman Pass to the west of Livingston, MT in early October 2005. Closest to the photographer is Montana Rail Link SD45-2 #306, followed by a high hood former Guilford (nee Norfolk & Western) SD45 still sporting charcoal grey and orange, followed by a MRL SD45, a rebuilt former Southern Pacific SD45R still in scarlet and grey and a MRL F45. This motley lashup is actually heading away from the photographer, shoving hard on the rear of BNSF symbol freight HKCKPAS [Kansas City, MO to Pasco, WA- also known as 'The Boeing train' since it often carries 737 fuselages between Boeing facilities in Wichita, KS and Renton, WA- NANESB!]. Waiting in the siding for the BNSF freight and MRL helpers to clear are a pair of MRL GP35s with local freight #841, bound for Livingston.

2005 marked the year that Montana Rail Link broke with tradition and purchased 16 brand-new SD70ACE's from EMD [most regional and shortline railroads typically take advantage of a fairly robust market in secondhand motive power- NANESB!]. The new EMDs would've been on the property for only a few weeks before the above picture was taken. Although a number of older SD40s and SD45s soldier on in service on today's MRL, the #306 was scrapped in 2011 while the #680 was cut up in 2008.

Today's Train of Thought- Dakota Gold, November 21st, 2012

Today's train of thought takes us to the northern plains and a place one wouldn't normally associate with trees of any significant quantity, let alone fall foliage. But a little like the Mohave desert, all it takes is a few strategically located trees to set up a scene with as much fall color as Vermont.

Case in point, this scene out of North Dakota. Here, railpictures.net contributor Steven M Welch caught Dakota, Missouri Valley and Western SD45 #7515 leading a trio of SD50Fs with Bismark to Max, ND train #136 at Falkirk, ND on October 1st, 2012.

The train is seen dragging cars of coal, grain, aggregates and oil in the shade of some trees turning a golden hue as they make their way through some gently undulating grades enroute to Max, ND. Besides the abundant wheat crop which keeps regionals like DMV&W busy come harvest time, the line also handles lignite coal and oil from the Bakken shale.

Interestingly, all four locomotives on Train #136 came to the Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western by way of Canadian National. The SD45 is ex-Wisconsin Central, which was one of many that were deemed surplus shortly after the CN acquisition of the WC about ten years ago while the SD50Fs were acquired directly from CN in 2009.

Today's Train of Thought- Rolling Into the New Year, December 31, 2011

Seems as though no matter where you were in the country, we've been in for a pretty mild winter ever since the calendar officially flipped over to wintertime some 10 days ago. Don't get me wrong, a nice mild winter is good to have every now and then, but there's also something to be said for having a white Christmas- not to mention some of us try and earn some extra cash this time of year by shovelling sidewalks or plowing driveways.

However, that doesn't seem to be a problem in the Dakotas. For instance, the forecast for Fargo, ND for New Year's Eve is for snow flurries and a low of 19°. By way of comparison, the forecast for Boston, MA on New Year's Eve calls for some fog and temperatures of no less than 36°.

Winter in the upper Midwest actually seems like winter more often than not. And this is effectively conveyed in the photography of railpictures.net contributor Lew Ableidinger.

Here, he snaps a pair of Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western SD45s- led by #7510- rounding a curve just outside of Oakes, ND heading east on former Soo Line trackage with a loaded grain train on December 6, 2010.

And with that vision of cold steel and high horsepower, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for visiting this humble blog and wish you a happy and prosperous 2012!

Today's Train of Thought

One of the first questions for some of the visitors to the newly-formed Not Another New England Sports Blog! was 'Where are the trains?'

Ah yes- those who know me well enough know that I hardly miss an opportunity to bring up railroads and locomotives in everyday conversation; of course, that's when I'm not gratuitously bringing up the Sox, Pats B's or C's in daily conversation.

So I bring you today's Train of Thought- an SD45 helper set for Montana Rail Link heading down Bozeman Pass.

-Today's image comes courtesey of Stefan Loeb and railpictures.net