I had gone out to assist another volunteer with covering and closing up steam locomotive no. 2153 (Northern Pacific) and we soon needed a cresent wrench. It was while I was going between the out building which housed the locomotive and roundhouse shop that I met my moment of tranquility. When I returned from the shop I climbed up on the front of 2153, wrapped one arm around the grab iron, and started turning the nuts to lock the smoke box door on the front.

I did a few other jobs tonight such as browse around the machine shop learning where the tools were, assist with sorting miniature steam locomotive parts (kind of, it was a tricky puzzle for all involved), climbed into the vestibule ceiling of Northern Pacific triple combine 1102 and worked on drilling holes for bolts on the car as well.

The roundhouse is huge with many shop areas and I think I am getting more comfortable going from area to area to find what I need.

Union Pacific Coal Train Passing by Grain Elevators on West Military Ave in Fremont, Nebraska, January 1, 2009. View across frozen lake.

Covered hoppers at Con-Agra Mills along Broad Street in Fremont, Nebraska - June 2009

Along Old Lincoln Highway in Ames, Nebraska - January 2009

E. J. Houle Feed Mill in Forest Lake, Minnesota - November 2009

Hugo Feed Mill, Hugo, Minnesota - June 2010

I did put together a Photosynth of the Houle Feed Mill in Forest Lake a few years ago. The site requires Microsoft Silverlight browser plug-in, but it allows you to “walk around” the structure since it stitched together all 100 photos I took of it.

I don’t know which of my grandparent’s took these pictures, or why they were downtown that day. I believe I see my grandfather’s green pick-up in the photo of glass on the sidewalk and people’s feet. He worked at the lumberyard downtown so he might have been working that Saturday morning and drove over after the explosion, or he may have driven in from elsewhere as the event was felt almost all over Fremont.

The morning of January 10, 1976, Fremont, Nebraska:

My son (at age 2) operating our Christmas train. Note we also installed a "yard fence" around the tree to protect the train as well as him.

One of my co-workers inquired about getting a train around the Christmas tree and whether I had any recommendations. Well, maybe she didn’t ask for a recommendation, but I gave her one anyway.

My mom has an HO-Scale steam 4-4-0 locomotive with passenger cars around her tree, and in college I had an N-Scale Burlington Northern passenger train. Grant, my Nebraska correspondent, has an HO-Scale freight train, and my in-laws have a large, almost G-Gauge, battery operated train going around their tree. These are all good, and many times any train will do but it comes down to your style, space, and preference. My preference is in the features and operation.

We have a Lionel Christmas freight train chugging around our tree. It is a 4-4-2 O-Gauge steam locomotive with a third rail. Lionel is the classic train to put around the tree and they are very solid engines which will last many years. They typically feature buttons on the power pack that allow you to blow a whistle or ring a bell if the train is equipped with those features. Most, if not all, of the engines chuff smoke and have working headlights, and passenger cars and cabooses are typically lighted. With the sounds, lights, and smoke, children and adults will enjoy the action and play provided.

The Lionel set we purchased was about $219 and can be picked up at any model train or hobby store, online, or at some retail stores like Target and Walmart. My wife hates the smell of the smoke, but different flavors such as Gingerbread, Candy Cane, and even Bacon, may be purchased online from Mega-Steam. There is also a switch to turn off the smoke generator if you choose. It is recommended that if you are not going to fill the stack with fluid, leave the generator switched off otherwise it can harm the unit.

If you just want to turn the train on, let it run, and not worry about bells, smoke, and whistles, perhaps a Lionel is overkill. Also, if you will have any chance of metal coming in contact with the tracks, you are best to get a battery operated train that doesn’t receive power through the rails. Toy metal cars, scissors, or screwdrivers lying across electrified tracks can cause sparks and short-circuit.

If you get a train with electrified rails, and if you have children around, I strongly recommend getting remote controlled power strips so that the trains are not operated without your supervision. Plus, many train power packs remain on when not in use so it’s always nice to have an external switch. It is advised to make sure children and adults operate the train at safe speeds as moving the throttle all the way up can cause the train to jump the track, spark, and short-circuit. Slowly move the throttle up until you reach a reasonable speed.

Once a tree has a train around it space for presents is kind of limited. A few flat presents (shirt boxes) will lay nicely between the trunk of the tree and the tracks, but be prepared to have an extra pile of presents next to your tree.

A train around your tree is definitely a wonderful addition to your festive decorating. Every decorating style is unique and I encourage you to explore your options and find one that meets your needs and desires.

In accordance with the spirit of spur of the moment tweeting, all typos are preserved as they were originally shared.

Tweets from August 31, 2011 in chronological order

At the airport to head to Nebraska, don’t forget I’ll be live tweeting my Fremont memory and history tour over next 3 days

Landed in Milwaukee “French missionaries & expl. were coming as early as late 1600s to trade w/ Native Americans”-Alice Cooper Wayne’s World

Wow, just flew in over flooded areas of Missouri, reminds us there are still those affected by forces of nature prior to current news cycle

I have landed in the “Gateway to the West,” that which is Omaha http://yfrog.com/mgaqxgj

Harriman Dispatch Center

Omaha was founded in 1854 and is home to the Union Pacific Railroad http://t.co/ogNGjkh

Harriman Dispatch Center http://yfrog.com/kfrgeggmj

The Harriman Center was built in 1891 as a freight depot for the Union Pacific Railway

It now houses the Union Pacific Dispatch for most if not all of their US trackage

Sometimes considered a bunker, it can withstand a tornado, has 2 backup gens and receives pwr from 2 different utils

Tweets from September 1, 2011

This is where Cinema III was. I saw Return of the Jedi 3 times here in 1983 http://yfrog.com/hsup4nfj

I loved it so much I even got the Return of the Jedi bed sheets as a kid

Though he hasn’t seen the movies, my son (4.5) loves Star Wars as well. He has a few books

Don’t worry, in 1.5 years, when he’s 6, we’ll start him off with the original trilogy

9th birthday - Tandy Computer - 1986

My first computer was purchased here at the Radio Shack in the Fremont Mall [1986] http://yfrog.com/mfa26rsj

It was a TRS-80 Color Computer (CoCo) http://bit.ly/pu0lMR

You had to program it using BASIC and my dad walked me through the manuals and sample programs

My uncle Ken taught me my first program from scratch–a FOR LOOP

I remember my uncle writing it down on pen and paper and walking me through the code step by step

I remember when this was a Walgreens with a restaurant attached http://yfrog.com/nzmapyrj

My favorite Walgreens meal was spaghetti. They had cool activity place mats as well

After a moning of packing, eating at Irvs on Main

Having data connection problems in fremont, will hsve to try tweeting later, I have a lot in queue

This used to be a W.C. Franks, an awesome arcade with the best cheese dogs http://yfrog.com/mmasmyj

I spent lots of quarters here on Dig Dug and Pac Man

I think it closed before I was even out of grade school

This used to be a Hinky Dinky grocery store, we’d return our empty pop bottles here http://yfrog.com/mesxqgj

At Werner Park for a Storm Chaser’s baseball game http://yfrog.com/gza8sjqj

Omaha Storm Chasers are the minor league AAA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals http://bit.ly/nGKtHh

Tonight is the last game of the inaugural season at the new park under a new team name

Before this year they played at Rosenblatt which was also home to the College World Series

They were also known as the Omaha Royals, except for a few years in the 90s when they were the Golden Spikes

Beautiful park, hot night, coagulating the Storm chasers on their playoffs http://yfrog.com/h73pfhrj

Tweets from September 4, 2011

(These were supposed to be from September 2-3, but they were delayed due to no data coverage)

I attended Howard Elementary K-6. The schools are now K-5

There are 8 elementary schools in the Fremont Public School system

505 Building

505 building The 505 Building was originally built in 1912 as the First National Bank of Fremont http://yfrog.com/g0y9eij

Here’s an article from the Fremont Tribune in 2009 about the 505 http://bit.ly/ps7WHc

But there is some beauty in the character it contains. It just needs some major TLC

Runza’s are bread stuffed with ground beef, cabbage, and onions http://yfrog.com/nuxazaj

The first Runza opened in 1947 in Lincoln, Nebraska http://bit.ly/nCc9o5

Dodge County Courthouse blt 1917 listed in the Nat’l Reg of Historic Places http://yfrog.com/h78v4nsj

Took my drivers test here when I was 16, plus it was the place to go for car registrations

Nebraska license plates start with a number representing one of the 93 counties except for Lancaster, Sarpy, and Douglas.

It is not uncommon for drivers to say, “that 5 county car just cut me off” or “there’s a 23 county car parked on my lawn.”

Lancaster, Sarpy, and Douglas Cntys have a large num of registrations, in 2002 they deviated by using 3 numbers and 3 letters

It was a controversial decision to deviate from the 80 year old number system.

History of Nebraska license plates http://bit.ly/rrG1F8

Pathfinder once occupied the corner of 6th and Broad for 59 years http://yfrog.com/ki57821717j

The six story hotel was built in 1917 with 115 rooms and a capacity of 360 http://bit.ly/pak37B

It had a barbershop, drug store, meeting spaces for community groups, and apartments

It was destroyed by a tragic gas explosion on January 10, 1976

The explosion took the lives of 20 people and is probably the darkest moment in Fremont history

I had the chance once or twice as a kid to sit down at the lunch counter when this was a Woolworths http://yfrog.com/nwcrtdj

Went antiqing and picked up a few items at Dime Store Days. http://yfrog.com/klewxnrj

May Brothers Wholesale Grocers Bldg (aka Petrow Bldg) is among my favs due to its large size http://yfrog.com/mfi3hdj

It was built in 1881 by Jacob and Lew May for their grocery wholesale buisness

Products would be shipped by rail from producers and they would repackage and ship items to sellers

Around 1920 the business merged w/ the H.P. Lau Co of Lincoln which built a building on 2nd street near the tracks

The windows have now been replaced and it looks like it will be revitalized

Unfortunately 2nd floor of May Bldg was vacant since 1960s & 3rd floor since 20s There is room for about 20 offices per floor

Like some of the large buildings in Fremont, it is obsolete and would be costly to renovate

My dad loved bringing my sister and I out to Hormel Park to walk along the paths http://yfrog.com/h613298080j

We would use the compass, look at leaves, take plaster moulds of animal tracks, and stay clear of poisen ivy

The Platte River is sometimes said to be a mile wide and a foot deep. Perfect for airboats

Tweets from September 5, 2011

Back from Nebraska, wasn’t able to get a strong data connection to Tweet live, but I recorded all the tweets and… http://fb.me/ZmSi7yxj

I posted 50 photos on Facebook in the album “Trip to Nebraska Sept 2011″ http://fb.me/17kXhU9VW

Union Pacific through Fremont, Nebraska http://fb.me/1ae6Z6hH9

Tweets from September 6, 2011

Great shot of a Union Pacific train http://nblo.gs/mCS6H

The car has been restored and is owned by the Friends of the 261, a non-profit based in Minneapolis that operates Milwaukee Road steam locomotive No. 261. Now and then you may see it at the end of the Amtrak Empire Builder or traveling along excursions managed by the Friends of the 261.

Milwaukee Road Hiawatha Cedar Rapids Skytop Observation Parlor Lounge Car parked in the Amtrak yard in Saint Paul, Minnesota. This is the view of the back end.

The latest article I read said that they will be double tracking the line from Fremont to Missouri valley. The track work, except for the bridges will all be done by 2014. The Elkhorn and Missouri river bridges will take longer.

I don’t know when they will actually start on the new bridge over the Missouri, but you can bet I will be taking a ridiculous amount of pictures. As far as I know, they are leaving the existing bridge and building a separate one for the second track.

The Union Pacific laid the first 2 miles of track for the new #2 track October 3rd between Kennard & Blair. They started just South of Kennard and got North, to the county road #28 crossing. They even have the track laid on those two small bridges that [Chad] saw when we drove up here.

I can’t believe how fast they can lay that track down. They have a line of the green flatbed cars, that transport the rails, already sitting on the new line. I’m guessing they want to do as much track work as they can before winter, then start on the bridge projects next spring.

The trackwork is occurring along Highway 30. Below is a picture from early this spring.

Union Pacific getting ready for double track from Blair to Fremont, Nebraska

Railroad Crossing sign for exempt spur at the original Grain Belt Brewery in Minneapolis

Grant, my Nebraska correspondent, was able to come up for a visit a few weekends ago. On his list of places to tour were the Bruce Vento Trail along the old Hamm’s Brewery in Saint Paul, the original Grain Belt Brewery in Minneapolis, and the Grain Belt sign along the Mississippi near the warehouse district. He also wanted to pay a visit to the White Castle No. 8 (Minnesota) structure on Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis, but eating 10 sliders at the nearby (and still operating) White Castle sufficed as time was limited.

We were both inspired to pay a visit to the old brewery after we each read Land of Amber Waters, a book which I reviewed a month or two back on this blog.

In July of 1890 Orth Brewing, Heinrich Brewing, Germania Brewing and Norenburg Brewing, all of Minneapolis, merged together forming the Minneapolis Brewing and Malting Company. In 1891 construction began on the brewing complex on the corner of Broadway and Marshall near the Mississippi River in North Minneapolis.

Through the careful work of preservation committees, the site is still in good shape and houses art studios, a library, and architecture firm among other businesses. It is a perfect example of renewal and a beautiful specimen of late 19th century Romanesque Revival style brewery architecture. It is also a testament to the rich brewing history in the Twin Cities.

Railroad tracks do run nearby and there is an abandoned spur running between some of the buildings. Since the outside of each building is accessible, it isn’t hard to stand in the middle of the complex and imagine the hustle and bustle of brewing activities back in the day.

All of my pictures from the brewery are on my Facebook page, and a few select ones I have posted on my Picasa site. Additional information about the brewery may be found on the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission’s page for the Grain Belt Brewery.

Original Grain Belt Brewery in Minneapolis, Minnesota

First, we visited the 7th Street trail entrance for the Bruce Vento Trail along the former Northern Pacific line that went from St. Paul to Duluth–the “Skally Line” I have so often written about. The 7th Street entrance to the trail is alongside and elevated above the 7th Street yards. Just as we arrived, but before we could get down into the trail area for a good view, a southbound BNSF grain train roared past. We did get a good look at the cars, but that’s about it.

It wasn’t soon after when we were under the I-94 bridge, looking south, we saw the Eastbound Amtrak Empire Builder cross the line in the distance behind some trees.

We walked up the trail north to the Hamm’s Brewery and looked at it from the trail. The old Chicago and North Western line crosses the trail using a wooden timber bridge on the north side of the brewery. The line, now operated by the Union Pacific, goes from Westminster Junction east to Stillwater. There were some cars sitting on the bridge and I snapped a few pictures of possible date tags and as the day was hot and humid we decided to head back.

ex-Chicago and North Western nose crossing bridge by Hamm's Brewery

About two blocks away, when we were near the Minnehaha bridge, I heard a hum of a diesel approaching. I turned around, got my camera ready, and snapped my first train picture of the trip, an ex-Chicago and North Western crossing the bridge. Well, at least I got the nose.

We made our way back to the parking lot and just as we got to the car we heard another train go by the trail below.

Later that day were were out on Boom Island in Minneapolis to see the famous Grain Belt sign along the Mississippi River. BNSF tracks run across the island and into Minneapolis. A train derailment to the north in Fridley stopped freight and commuter traffic for several days, but the line was now back up in running. We parked in a school lot, got ready to head up the hill to the Hennepin Bridge when we heard crossing bells behind us. We turned around to get a glimpse of the Northstar Commuter Train heading south into downtown towards Target Field for the evening commute.

While on the Hennepin Bridge we got a great view of the Grain Belt sign, and I was able to snap a photo of a southbound Twin Cities and Western crossing the bridge on the BNSF line.

So, no videos this time, but we had a great time sight seeing and scoping out a few spots for future train watching.

Southbound Twin Cities and Western heading across Mississippi into Minneapolis

Leading the eastbound coal train are two General Electric AC44CW units. Union Pacific number 7146 is in the front, and following behind is UP 6163 with the “Wings” logo on the nose. The “Wings” logo is basically blue wings with a white outline on either side of the Union Pacific logo. You can see the left wing in the photo.

Union Pacific 7146 leads an eastbound coal train through Fremont, Nebraska on September 2, 2011.