Best place to view CN in Minnesota?

I've lived in Southern MN (Mankato to be specific) most of my life and out of all the North American Class I's I've never seen much of CN. I'm not too familiar with where they go in Minnesota outside of the Duluth area which is too far of a drive. Are there any locations close to the Twin Cities that CN goes through which has plenty of CN activity? I'd just like to observe them a bit more as something different.

Jmusolf wrote:I've lived in Southern MN (Mankato to be specific) most of my life and out of all the North American Class I's I've never seen much of CN. I'm not too familiar with where they go in Minnesota outside of the Duluth area which is too far of a drive. Are there any locations close to the Twin Cities that CN goes through which has plenty of CN activity? I'd just like to observe them a bit more as something different.

I'd try Bulwer Junction in New Brighton, where the CP/Soo crosses the Minnesota Commercial. CN has rights from Withrow Junction to Shoreham Yard, and interchanges a fair bit with the MNNR at Bulwer. Bonus: you'll catch Commercial's GEs and possibly Alcos there, not just CN and CP power.

Is there any CN traffic on the west end of the GB&W? Not strictly Minnesota, but it's right across the river from Winona. I suppose you could try down in Albert Lea too.

I've thought about trying Albert Lea and the former IC line that goes from there to Lyle, MN and Iowa but I don't know if that's a dead line. I mainly want to see any CN and maybe even an IC SD70. Are those common around the Twin Cities or am I more likely to see those on the former IC around Chicago and parts south?

Jmusolf wrote:I've thought about trying Albert Lea and the former IC line that goes from there to Lyle, MN and Iowa but I don't know if that's a dead line. I mainly want to see any CN and maybe even an IC SD70. Are those common around the Twin Cities or am I more likely to see those on the former IC around Chicago and parts south?

Well, I guess someone found an IC SD70 in New Brighton: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1067452" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I hadn't seen any SD70s there, but I wasn't looking for standard cabs either. If I happen through that way and see any, I'll let you know.

As for Albert Lea, I don't think it's dead per se. The Wisconsin Central connection will have a lot more traffic though, and be more likely to host big power.

EDIT: And if you get a picture like this one, let us know!

I guess I'm just used to anywhere in Southern MN seeming "dead" compared to areas like the Twin Cities or Chicago area. I'll have to check Albert Lea/Lyle, MN out sometime and see what they got. Anywhere in Southern MN that isn't CP/UP dominated is definitely worth checking out in my opinion.

There is not much CN to see in the Twin Cities - only 1 train a day. L517 operates from Stevens Point WI to New Brighton MN, scheduled to arrive during the mid morning. A Minneapolis Transfer crew (L506) takes over the train and interchanges cars to BN Northtown, CP Minneapolis and the Minnesota Commercial. Towards early evening, they build the train for L516 (same crew that came in on L517) to take back to Stevens Point.

Within the cities, there is no pattern or schedule - it's all hit or miss.

Thanks for the info. I may stop by next week early in the morning and just wait for something to show up. Any good suburbs? I've tried St. Anthony and New Brighton, but I was wondering if there was any where else on the line westward to New Brighton.

Decided to check out the CN line in Lyle/Albert Lea today but I didn't see much. Granted, I was only there for an hour or so. Can anyone tell me more info on CN's operations on the old Cedar River Railroad line from Albert Lea to Waterloo? Mainly wondering just how active it is and how many jobs run on it.