I was on Google Earth today and looked up the steamer in Thief River Fals. According to Wes Barris' Steamlocomotive.com., the steamer is a 2-8-2 number 1024. I found it by the station.

As I looked down the track, I saw a 7 stall round house intact with turntable and trains. I noticed that 3 of the tracks were occupied by what could be steam locomotives. I am not certain as I did not have enough resolution to know for sure.

Can anyone verify what I am seeing on Google Earth? Who's round house and railroad is this?

Thanks,

JD Johnson, Morehead and North Fork Railroad Historian

JD-

The Soo Line steam engine (#1024) is a Mikado originally built for the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville (Monon) that the railroad sold to the Soo back in 1941. BTW, it is the ONLY surviving Monon steam locomotive. I have never heard of a surviving roundhouse at Thief River Falls, nor trains or other steam locomotives there. I wonder if this photo could be posted on RyPN? In any event, I hope someone clarifies the situation.

Les

RATS! I told the guys not to leave those outside where everyone could see them. They are three of the ten reproduction J-3a's we had built in China. Problem is, the Chinese put the engineer's controls on the wrong side of the cab, and now we can't find a buyer…

Nice try, but no luck. The roundhouse is the former Soo Line roundhouse, which became CP when they absorbed the Soo Line corporate entity in the mid nineties. But our agents out in the boonies (hey, Howard, TRF is a heck of a lot closer to Fargo than Duluth is!) tell me that the CP/Soo no longer operates the roundhouse, it's either leased or owned by Independent Locomotive Service (ILS), who also has a facility in Bethel, MN.

Jason continues:

"No offense to the operator, but based on the typical amount of misc junk/stuff
on the property at any given time, what you are seeing could be anything from
hulks of some misc diesel of misc origin to freight cars loaded with components
to MOW equipment to campers, trailers, vehicles, etc. Whatever is required to
support work on a contract program. I've seen locos of the Belt Rwy of Chicago
and a number of different RRs and leasing firms stored in TR Falls in the past
6-8 years in various states of cannibalization/disrepair. I see no reason to
believe they are steam locos"

He also says the photo is at least a year old, as he thought the eastern half of the house was torn down last year.

Dennis,

I can capture the pic from Google Earth but I am un sure of how to post it.

Could someone help me? It will be Monday before I can work with it again as it is time to go home now. 6:00 pm est.
The roundhouse would have made a nice rr musuem. Still had turntable in the photo.

JD Johnson, Morehead and North

Our group's Milwaukee Road SD10 was in this roundhouse a few years ago after donation by the CP. We paid ILS to prepare it for movement.

David Farlow
Whitewater Valley RR