Minnesota Commercial Railway - 70 Year Old Locomotives Smoking Like Chimneys!

In this video, C. Vision Productions takes you on a tour of the Minnesota Commercial Railway. Operating over 150 route miles, the Minnesota Commercial serves customers on an extensive network of rail lines in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

The railroad operates on lines formerly owned by the Minnesota Transfer Railway Company, in addition to trackage leased from BNSF and Canadian Pacific. Prior to the PTC mandate, the railroad utilized trackage rights over Union Pacific rails to reach Bayport, Minnesota. C. Vision’s cameras follow five local switch jobs, along with some yard switching and transfer runs at the MNNR’s Midway Yard. First we’ll follow the Hugo Job, operating on former Minnesota Transfer and Northern Pacific trackage. Next, we’ll catch the Belt Job as it performs its duties with the railroad’s only B36-7 in charge. You’ll see the Hiawatha Job operating on former Milwaukee Road rails, with a cab ride on B23-7 1982 also included. The Hiawatha Milling District was documented on this run, with footage from in the cab, as well as trackside. After that, we’ll head east to capture the Bayport Job operating over trackage rights on the Union Pacific’s Altoona Subdivision and Stillwater Industrial Lead. Minnesota Commercial’s CF7 484 is right at home on this job, as it carries the name “City of Bayport”. Finally, we check out some switching operations in and around Midway Yard.

The Minnesota Commercial is truly unique as it operates with second generation Dash 7 General Electric locomotives, including models C30-7, B23-7, B30-7, and B36-7. A former Santa Fe SF30C is also seen in service. If you are an Alco fan, this railroad has a treat for you! You will see one of the last two Alco RS27 locomotives in existence, MNNR 316, as the unit smokes it up on the Hennepin Job. We were also fortunate to capture MNNR 313, an Alco C424, teamed up with a slug working the Commercial’s afternoon top end job in Midway Yard. Other interesting locomotives that appear in this video include a former Canadian National M420, and a former Santa Fe CF7.

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