Western Railroad Discussion > How I do miss the old "Standard Cab" units

With thanks to those who responded to my inquiry about things to see btwn St Paul and Billings Mt, I managed a few shots along the way. West of Elk River Minn I came upon a n EB Oil Train on the BNSF. Amtrak's EB Builder has just passed and it caught me by surprise as I did not see it at first, only this one you see here. CN SD60 5418 w CN 2009 and BNSF 9396 do the honors. I really do miss these standard cab units. This was one of the ex OAKWAY units that CN picked up and this one in particular was the 9054. Still looks good.

Shot 2 has another standard cab unit and also another one CN picked up on the "used" market. Here is CN 2009 an ex UP C40-8, their 9032 and before that an ex CNW unit. CN paint looks good on this one too.

Shot 3 Has another EB Oil Train behind the CN 5418 at MP 61. CREX 1322 w/BNSF 8804 on this one. I was amazed at how many Oil Trains were to be seen along this route. I didn't have any idea there were so many running. Almost as if they have replaced the other Black Gold that ran this way. Which by the way I only saw 2, one emtpty and one loaded. Along the way I saw 15 trains total btwn St Paul Mn and Dilworth Mn. A few more west of Dilworth, but too far away to really see (But I did see them and both were Oil Trains).

Any chance anyone can ID these 2 trains for me? Thanks again to those who gave me the info for this run. Tomorrow is another day and more travelling. Ya'll take care and stay safe. Ben ( All shot today in or near Elk River Mn July 16 2014)

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You would not miss them if you worked on them in Main Line service. Obviously, the old cab is great for road switching service, but the wide cab is so much more comfortable you would have to be crazy to want it. Just the fact that the air conditioning almost always works does it for me; not to mention the loads of extra room and more comfortable seats! I was an engineer on the WP-UP since 1974 and saw them all; it took a while to get used to the new controls, but after that, they were way cool; they even have a toilet you don't have to crawl in a hole to get to! PS, I didn't like covered wagons either, pretty, but awkward inside the cab.

Good colorful shots Ben, I like the tank car symmetry. The 2009 is a real looker.
Brian Stevens

Nice Grabs!