Here are some of the photos from the past week.

What's pictured is the Soo Line tender W767,Soo caboose next to the two locos.
I'm having size issues with many of the photos.

There's a "quick and dirty" short cut for photo size reduction you might be able to do with your computer, depending on your operating system and programs.

Every Microsoft Windows computer I've handled allowed one to e-mail a photo by right-clicking the photo, selecting "Send To" and them "Mail Recipient". This automatically loads it through your computer's default e-mail program, such as Outlook, Outlook Express, or Mozilla Thunderbird. In the process, a dialog box opens that says "Windows can resize the pictures you send in e-mail so that they transfer faster and are easier to view" and then offers you the choice to resize or not. If you select more options it will even (in my case) give you a range of size options. This can resize, for example, a 2-meg JPEG to 100KB. Then either save the resulting attachment separately or e-mail it to yourself and re-file the photo with a new file name.

I use this website to reduce my pictures:

http://www.picresize.com/

Herb,

I certainly enjoy seeing those photos and any others you have. As Alexander mentioned, there is resize function built into windows. I had MSN email and that resize function worked like a charm, but now with gmail, it is obscured by riddles and puzzles.

If you cannot find that resize functionality, that link posted by thebigham looks like it would be easy to use.

There is also a way of resizing using the "Paint" program in Windows. I can explain that if you need it.

A found a couple of photos I took of the M&W from Feb. 2006. The neon sign laying on the ground with the tree growing through it is the from the St. Paul Union Depot. The Iowa Central boxcar can also be seen. There is a tremendous amount of overgrowth on the property.

Third shot is the 2-6-2T circa 1977, from my collection.

Jeff Terry

Thought this old SOO tank looked familiar. Sure looks about same to me?

http://www.midcontinent.org/collectn/steam/soo2645.html

John -

I think that was a tender that the Soo applied to a lot of their steam locomotives, regardless of type, if they were in local or switching service. The "set back" coal bunker for visibility to the rear and the height for as much coal as would be possible. Be interesting to know what engine it was assigned to. My money would be on a 2-8-0.

Les

No doubt your right Les. Don't know much about the Soo steam, but now that you mention it I have seen that style tender before. Have always kind of liked that "industrial" look, though it doesn't exactly fit the #2645, ascetically speaking. Historically correct regardless. Good new years to you! Regards, John.

Talk about the tender reminds me that it really should go to Mid-Continent for use with Soo Line 4-6-0 2645... in fact it may well be 2645's old tank, since the tender the engine was displayed with never ran with the engine. I am quite familiar with the tender the engine was displayed with when in Waukesha; it appears to be the tender from an H-1 or H-20 light Pacific, with the coaming cut off the top of the tank and the profile of the coal bunker modified to make it look smaller. I have no idea why this was done, the original tank may have already been "borrowed" for work service, or it was an attempt to make the displayed locomotive look more like a road locomotive than a switcher. The pilot was also changed back to a road pilot; several of the other small engines had road pilots installed at the time they were cleaned up for display after years of wearing switcher pilots.

Soo Line tenders carried cast number plates on their frames, riveted to the center of the side sills, but most have gone missing to collectors. The tender number was the same as the number of the engine it was built with, and it kept that number even if swapped to another engine. All the small power (everything without a trailing truck) had the tenders modified with the narrow switcher bunkers starting sometime just before WWII.

John/Dennis -

I have always kind of liked those "cut back/high coal bunker" tenders too. The IC had some on their 0-8-0's, and the Southern had 0-8-0's with an "arc" to the bunker, giving it a real classy look.

Les

While I don't have pictures to share of Don's collection I do have a couple of stories.

Anyone, who knew Mr. Lind considered him a very intelligent, polite man but a bit unusual. At one time he purchased an old steel (?), URTX, reefer from the Soo where I worked and was quite tardy on removing it from Shoreham yard. After numerous pleas from the railroad to remove the purchased reefer he showed up one Friday in the summer, with a truck and a pair of dollies to move it to Anndale...which he did unbelieveably without a permit through the streets of Minneapolis and out Highway 55, west to the consternation of many vacationers. When he was finally stopped by the Highway Patrol and questioned they like many had a hard time talking with him and they proceeded to escort him to the farm to get him off the road.

Another time Don had written the Soo requesting an estimate for installation of a switch off the main to his property so he could operate steam excursion trains into Annadale and back on weekends. I was handed the file for my comments which basically were: "I can't believe it." The old Soo Line of the 70s was a polite but firm railroad and promtly replied with a letter listing the cost estimate of a main track switch at somewhere around $55,000. and stating that main track operation by another party was not allowed. There was no further communication between either party regarding the topic.

As stated before, some folks often collect more than is possible to restore. maintain or operate. Speaking as a former, private car owner, of three cabooses the best days of ownership is when you buy it, sell it or donate it. Could this be why collections belong in museums where they can be well maintained and enjoyed for years where they can be enjoyed by us all?

Rest in Peace, Don

An update on the Minnesota & Western collection. I was part of a group from the Mid-Continent Railway Museum looking for salvage parts from the collapsed wooden passenger cars to help in the ongoing restoration efforts there. We found much that will be useable and help with projects both contemplated and under way. Further, I was delighted to hear from the owner and his agent that much of the equipment has already found good homes in well known museums all over the country.