Navigation

home

Disclosure & Profile

FOAMARZ INC

Photo of the Week

Best of 2005

Best of 2006

April 7, 8, & 9

CNR Kinghorn Sub

CNR Hornepayne Division

CP Heron Bay Sub

CPR Nipigon & Kaministiquia Subs

FPON

Wilson's Top Spots

Videos

Off Home Ground

The other stuff

Intermodal

CPR NOSA T/I

Published Work

Website Links

 Guestbook

BNSF Staples Subdivision (Wadena-Detroit Lakes)

     Welcome to the BNSF Staples Subdivision! Built by the Great Northern Railway in 1893 to connect the Pacific to St. Paul. Today the line hauls an abundance intermodal, most of which is imported merchandise from the Pacific Rim Countries to Chicago and the Midwest. In addition, transportation companies such as UPS, ABF, Schneider National, Hub Group, Roadway, and JB Hunt haul domestic trailers and containers. The Powder River Basin, America's largest coal producer ships millions of tons of coal to energy facilities in the east. As well the line can see merchandise trains, grain, automotive, and potash. There is still passenger service offered by Amtrak on the daily east and west Empire Builder which runs at night.

     A bonus to Detroit Lakes is the crossing of the CP Detroit Lakes Subdivision. Although traffic is sparse compared to the CP Minot-St Paul line you can still see upwards to six CP's on a good day. These being grain and manifest trains.

Today, the BNSF Staples Subdivision will see on a good day close to 50 trains, but usually a little less. Most of these are coal, and intermodal. 

The BNSF uses the symbol/ 3 character abbreviation for its trains. 

A --- AMTRAK 

B --- BARETABLE INTERMODAL 

C --- LOADED UNIT COAL

 D --- LITE ENGINES 

E --- EMPTY UNIT COAL

 F --- FOREIGN RAILROAD TRAINS OVER BNSF 

G --- LOADED UNIT GRAIN 

H --- MANIFEST (HIGH PRIORITY) 

I --- DEADHEAD CREW MOVES 

J --- NOT USED

 K --- HELPER SERVICE 

L --- LOCAL SERVICE 

M --- MANIFEST (NORMAL PRIORITY) 

O --- OFFICER SPECIALS 

P --- INTERMODAL PREMIUM SERVICE 

Q --- INTERMODAL GUARANTEED SERVICE 

R --- ROAD SWITCHER SERVICE 

S --- INTERMODAL DOUBLE STACK SERVICE 

T --- TRANSFER SERVICE (INTERCHANGE RECEIVED/DELIVERED)

 U --- UNIT TRAINS OTHER THAN COAL OR GRAIN 

V --- VEHICLE (AUTOMOTIVE) TRAINS 

W --- WORK TRAINS 

X --- EMPTY UNIT GRAIN 

Y --- YARD ENGINES

 Z --- INTERMODAL (HIGHEST PRIORITY)

Wadena is located on US Highway 10 and is about 15 minutes away from Staples, MN. 

Here are a few pictures from September, 2007. 

Several solid vehicle trains cross with domestic and imported autoracks each day.

At the diamond at Detroit Lakes CP meets BNSF. The diamond is first come first serve.

High Priority Z trains loaded with LTL trailers from the West Coast head towards Chicago.

Manifest trains like this Pasco, WA to Minneapolis, MN  have colourful lash-ups.

Its pretty common to catch older power from EMD/GETS on stack trains like this Hanjin/OOCL one at Perham, MN.

Return to Wilson's Top Spots