N
NP2626
Guest
Thanks for the map; although it is greatly simplified!
A little trivia for you two --
All the SLSF Passenger E-7's and E-8's were all named after "famous" horses.
One of them was Dan Patch.
All the SLSF Passenger E-7's and E-8's were all named after "famous" horses.
One of them was Dan Patch.
N
NP2626
Guest
Dan patch wasn't as famous as Secretariat, Stewball or many other race horses; but, in his day...
Iron Horseman
Well-Known Member
Even though it (the predicessor Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester & Dubuque) was originally designed for passenger service, I understood the MNS interchanged freight with six railroads. I am only finding 5 on the map. I wonder if that information is from pre-1970 BN days such that the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific were the other two?
Last edited:
Iron Horseman
Well-Known Member
I think that is just because he was a trotter and not a "thoroughbred racer". The thoroughbred racing get all the attention outside of the horse community. I mean everyone knows what the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes are. I am guessing almost no one outside the horse community knows what the Hambletonian is.
I think Secretariat came a little after the era of the E-7's & 8's? Someone back at that time must have thought highly of him/her? Geez - Sorry I brought it up!
Iron Horseman
Well-Known Member
A bit more digging around, I found that the MNS interchanged with the Chicago Great Western during world war II. So now I'm going to look for CGW maps and see if I can locate the connection.
N
NP2626
Guest
There is plenty of information on the MN&S.
skyliner
Well-Known Member
I think that occurred in Randolph, MN (or possibly Northfield). The CGW line thru that area ran from Red Wing, to Cannon Falls, Randolph, Northfield, and then down to Mankato. Today, the line from Cannon Falls to Northfield is still active, operated by the Cannon Valley Railroad, which is a subsidiary of Progressive Rail. The CGW line south of Dundas to Mankato is long gone, although part of it appears to be converted to the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail.
The only thing I'm not sure about is where exactly the interchange occurred; MNS maps from the 1920s show their line extending to Randolph from Northfield, but CGW maps also show that as part of their lines as well. Perhaps it was shared trackage, or something similar, hopefully someone else will know better than I on that. My guess would be Randolph was used for interchange because that was the junction between CGW's north-south line from St. Paul to Oelwein and their east-west line from Mankato to Rochester.
The MNS map I posted previously is probably from some time in the 1970s, as it shows Chicago & Northwestern on the former CGW lines, after those two merged. Most of the former CGW routes in this area were abandoned not too long after that, and much of the rails have been pulled up.
There's a pretty good 1943 CGW map on this page, and it looks like the MNS interchange is depicted at Randolph, but it's a little hard to tell:
https://www.american-rails.com/chicago-great-western.html
PS- If anyone's looking for more MNS equipment...as of two days ago, Scale Model Supplies in St. Paul has an HO Walthers 2-car Thrall all-door boxcar set in MNS colors in stock. I was tempted to get it after these discussions, but I was already spending enough money that day. Someone better get it before I change my mind.
Edit to add:
Don't know why I didn't think of looking at this first, I have a copy of the August 1952 Official Guide of the Railways. Here's a scan of the page for the MNS, with a highlight around the freight routing notes. Looks like the CGW interchange was at Randolph.
Last edited:
Hello!
I am new to this forum, so forgive if I don't post correctly. I was looking for info on the MN&S and came across this feed.
My grandfather worked for the MN&S for 42 years, retiring in 1962, (newspaper articles). I was little so don't have a lot of memories of him on the train, but always knew that he was an engineer. When he retired all of his 10 kids and 42 (at the time) grandchildren welcomed him to his
retirement by way of rolling out the red carpet from the train of his last train ride, #60 on the train photo. He went to work at the Golden Valley, MN railway barn, as stated on back of a photo of this building passed onto me. I also have several photos of my grandpa engineering two different trains, #60, and #61 in photos.
The one memory I have of "grandpa's train" is that he took a bunch of us grandkids down to see "his" train one time. It was at the Golden Valley
location. We were allowed to climb up onto his train. Wow!!! That was a BIG deal!! So glad to have that memory and experience. If anyone knows
of great photos of either of these trains, please let me know. I am trying to make a small photo album for my 2 grandsons who are loving trains, and at the same time pass along a wonderful segment of our family history. Thanks for any input you have!
I am new to this forum, so forgive if I don't post correctly. I was looking for info on the MN&S and came across this feed.
My grandfather worked for the MN&S for 42 years, retiring in 1962, (newspaper articles). I was little so don't have a lot of memories of him on the train, but always knew that he was an engineer. When he retired all of his 10 kids and 42 (at the time) grandchildren welcomed him to his
retirement by way of rolling out the red carpet from the train of his last train ride, #60 on the train photo. He went to work at the Golden Valley, MN railway barn, as stated on back of a photo of this building passed onto me. I also have several photos of my grandpa engineering two different trains, #60, and #61 in photos.
The one memory I have of "grandpa's train" is that he took a bunch of us grandkids down to see "his" train one time. It was at the Golden Valley
location. We were allowed to climb up onto his train. Wow!!! That was a BIG deal!! So glad to have that memory and experience. If anyone knows
of great photos of either of these trains, please let me know. I am trying to make a small photo album for my 2 grandsons who are loving trains, and at the same time pass along a wonderful segment of our family history. Thanks for any input you have!
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
MN&S built itself up by being a "bridge line" between the other railroads, allowing freight loads to skip waiting in the various yards of the Twin Cities (of which, yes there were six at minimum.)
The major names to be known which MNS did business with:
Both NP and GN, later BN of course
MILW
CRIP
GNW
CGW
SOO
Interesting to see this thread revived (Thanks GrandpaC!). I've just recently acquired John C Luecke's book about the MN&S, as well as a major MN railway maps bundle also from Luecke. (4000 maps!) AND, my two MN&S SD39's have just come home for detailing. They will soon be joined by MN&S switcher #31, of which I have acquired a well-done custom painted shell.
As I focus on railroading south of the Twin Cities, I consider MN&S to be my #2 railroad interest. About time I get around to showing that. I rock my SD39's as a pair, back-to-back, but in reality MN&S took one each and mated them with two switchers. The trains these lashups would drag through the river valleys are just astounding. The southbound transfer runs through Savage, MN over the Minnesota River were well-known to be big trains, and often required doubling to get everything out of the valley.
I'm just getting back into model railroading after a 50 year hiatus. Having grown up a couple blocks from the MNS in St Louis Park, I'm looking to repaint a couple of engines, and perhaps a few freight cars. My first issue is getting the MNS blue and red correct. Any photos online are subject to the idiosyncrasies of my monitor. Since you seem to have painted a few MNS locos, I'm curious what you used for the paint colors?
BillG
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
I've asked some more seasoned MNS modelers the same. I've been told everything from MRL blue to Mopac blue and B&O blue. Basically, no one knows, and weathering won't really let us know. Pick a dark blue which looks best to you. (For reference, the Athearn paint on my MN&S locos is too bright)
