1. Hennepin Overland Railway Historical Society HO Scale Model Train Layout

This one I need to do right away as the Hennepin Overland Railway closes for the season at the end of April and won’t re-open until next fall. According to it’s website they have a “65 foot long by 29 foot wide HO scale model train layout” serving two fictitious towns, a logging camp and a spectacular hand-made trestle bridge. There are “multiple upper level storage yards and industrial spurs, and lower-level storage/staging yards.” My son will definitely think this is cool.

2. Twin City Model Railroad Museum at Bandana Square

Twin City Model Railroad Museum: Minneapolis Riverfront

I go to the Twin City Model Railroad Museum at least two times a year in the former Como shops of the Northern Pacific. My son enjoys playing with the wooden Thomas table as well as pushing various interactive buttons. While the main feature is the O Scale layout depicting the Twin Cities in they heyday of rail service (complete with a model of the famous Stone Arch Bridge) the Toy Train Division in the adjoining building is a bonus with about a dozen layouts, some providing even more interactive features for kids. When both the Model Railroad Museum and the Toy Train Division are open, only one admission price is needed to see both.

3. Bike-Ride Down Bruce Vento Trail

The Bruce Vento Trail extends from Saint Paul to Maplewood and uses the former Northern Pacific’s Skally Line right-of-way. It goes under the Seventh Street Arches which were built in 1884 and designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2000. It also goes through Swede Hollow and past the old Hamm’s Brewery, alongside Lake Phalen, up into the northern suburb of Maplewood where it ends around former track mile post 8.

4. Train Spot from Phalen Boulevard Bridge

West end of Westminster Junction Wye

Early in the morning several trains can be seen passing and going under the Phalen Boulevard bridge at Westminster Junction. There is a pedestrian platform with on the north side of the bridge giving a spectacular view of the east side of the wye and the mainline heading northeast. A historical information kiosk is also displayed on the bridge. A modest barricade does exist between the walkway and traffic so it is friendly for children who don’t climb on 3 foot walls. There is no view of the tunnels but if you head south to the Lafayette bridge you can get a good view. The Lafayette bridge does not have a barrier and is not kid friendly.

5. Mill City Museum

Ran by the Minnesota Historical Society, the Mill City Museum is built into the ruins of the Washburn A Mill which was once the largest mill in the world processing enough flour per day to fill approximately 175 railroad cars. Built in 1874, the original structure was leveled by an explosion sometime after it was built. It was reconstructed in 1880 and used until 1965. In 1991 it suffered a fire, was later cleaned up and now has a museum inside.

6. Jackson Street Roundhouse

Son on Northern Pacific Caboose 1264 at Jackson Street Roundhouse

My son has accompanied me many times to the Minnesota Transportation Museum’s Jackson Street Roundhouse that he has taken up the task of leading me around to the exhibits. I just let him lead the way and enjoy watching him take in the caboose or bus ride, tour the various locomotives and passenger cars, and run the interactive displays. He really feels at home. Besides, I can go there and just “hang out” on my own time as I have a membership and occasionally volunteer there!

7. Minnesota Street Car Museum

The Minnesota Streetcar Museum operates two lines: the Como-Harriet Line in southwest Minneapolis along Lake Harriet, and the Excelsior Line near Hwy 7 in Excelsior. The rides are about 15 minutes long, are inexpensive, and scenic. I’ve been on both, but most recently the Como-Harriet Line. The cars are beautifully restored with period advertisements along the inside ceiling.

8. Find White Castle Building Number 8

On the corner of 3252 Lyndale Avenue South in Minneapolis there is an old White Castle which is listed on the National Register of Historic places. What makes this White Castle unique is that it was built to move and has–3 times. Known as White Castle Building No. 8, it is a movable, prefabricated 28 by 28 foot restaurant that once stood near the University of Minnesota on Washington Avenue. When the land owner refused to extend the lease it was moved to Central Avenue. When that location built a larger White Castle, building number 8 was moved to its present location and put on the register.

9. Ride Osceolla & St. Croix Valley Railway

Soo Line 559 and Burlington Northern 6234 in Osceola, Wisconsin

The Minnesota Transportation Museum also operates the Osceolla & St. Croix Valley Railway. It operates on an active mainline and two different routes are offered. Both routes originate at the Osceolla Depot, one going east to Dresser, Wisconsin, the other west to Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota. I have only ridden on the Marine on St. Croix route, which was scenic as it crosses the river into Minnesota. I have yet to ride to Dresser. The train consists of a variety of cars, some of which are from the Great Northern Empire Builder.

10. Ride Northstar and Hiawatha Light Rail End to End

I’d like to take a weekday off from work, get up early around 5:30 a.m., drive 1 hour to Big Lake, Minnesota, and catch the Northstar Commuter train into the cities. At it’s terminus at Target Field I would then transfer to the Hiawatha Light Rail and continue south to Mall of America, maybe make a stop at Minnehaha Park along the way and in the afternoon take the light rail back to Target Field, hop on the first train out of the cities back to Big Lake. At some point I also wouldn’t mind rail spotting both the Hiawatha and Northstar as I haven’t done so yet.

I’ve Mapped it all on Google Maps

I’ll post pictures as I complete each trip on my list, you can see my progress on the Summer 2012 Google Map.

View 2012 Twin Cities To-Do List in a larger map

Reynolds Aluminum Plant on 9th St in White Bear Lake in the 1970s. Photo Courtesy of White Bear Lake Area Historical Society

Every year in America over 100 billion aluminum beverage cans are manufactured. The modern process is so efficient a single production line can turn out 2,500 cans per minute. Though all-aluminum cans were in production since 1963, it took four more years to revolutionize the industry using a new alloy and draw process introduced at a plant in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

In 1935, steel, 3-piece cans were on the market comprising of a top, bottom, and cylindrical side. According to Doug Hoverson in his book Land of Amber Waters the benefits of cans were they were not breakable, they shielded the contents from harmful light, they were lighter and easier to handle, and they didn’t need to be returned by the consumer.

Some cans had cone-tops with bottle caps which made it easy for breweries to adapt the can to already existing bottling lines. Flat-tops were introduced by the American Can Company at the same time as well. Flat-tops were easier to stack but required breweries to modify their bottling lines to accommodate the cans, which could be expensive. It also required consumers to use a special opening device, sometimes referred to as a “church key,” to “pop the top.” Still, however, Theodore Hamm’s Brewery in Saint Paul immediately took on the expense of re-fitting its bottling line and adopted the flat-top becoming the only brewer in Minnesota never to use the cone-top.

Eventually aluminum replaced the tops of the cans, but the bodies continued to be made of steel. Since the aluminum tops were lighter and thinner, pull-tabs could be built right onto the can eliminating the need for a special opening device. Aluminum tops also extended the shelf-life of the beverage.

According to an article in the September 1994 issue of Scientific American, the first all-aluminum, 2-piece can was created by Adolph Coors Company in 1958. Coors used the impact-extrusion process in which the bottom and sides were punched as one piece and the top was put on after filling. However, these cans proved inadequate for mass production since they could only contain 7 ounces and were 0.03 of an inch thick.

In 1963 Reynolds was the first to make the commercial 12 oz. can which Theodore Hamm Brewing Company began using in 1964. However, the process was not perfect and defects were common.

On the far left: Schell's Deer Brand Beer cone-top can circa. 1950s (Rick A. collection). Right two images show four flat-top cans from the top and bottom. Budweiser 16 oz steel bottom and side, aluminum top w/ pull-tab. Budweiser 12 oz all metal with church key punched top. Hamm's aluminum pull-tab top, steel side and bottom. Hamm's all aluminum pull-tab (author's collection).

Beverage cans need to withstand internal pressures of 90 psi. It took a lot of work and effort to make aluminum can bodies able to withstand that pressure. This work was often done using a technique referred to as “annealing” where metal is heated and allowed to slowly cool. This heating and slow cooling process toughens the metal, but it drastically slows down the manufacturing process.

Many breweries and metal companies were working on ways to increase production speeds to turn out large quantities of cans. Working for Reynolds, Linton D. Bylund was himself researching a more efficient process.

In 1967 Bylund successfully petitioned the Can Division of Reynolds to do a commercial production evaluation run at the White Bear Lake plant. His new process still formed the can using a punch, but did not require softening, anneals, or stress reliefs. It would punch and form the can in 4 quick steps called Draw and Iron. It would also use a specific aluminum alloy not yet in use in beverage can manufacturing.

The first 130,000 can bodies were produced at the White Bear Lake plant in February of 1967. These cans were later filled with Hamm’s beer, performed well, and proved it was commercially viable to run on existing equipment at commercial speeds. His tests continued through 1967 and by 1968 Reynolds settled on the process.

The draw and iron process removed all other production methods from the can industry, improved the life of machinery, and created lighter cans. While other industries had used similar techniques, this was the first time such a process was used for beverage cans.

The plant was located on 9th Street in White Bear Lake across from Podvin Park. The building still exists relatively unchanged but now houses a paper company.

Studying aerial photos from Minnesota Historical Aerial Photographs Online (MHAPO) from the John R. Borchert Map Library at the University of Minnesota, I was able to determine that the Reynolds plant was built around 1963. The center of the 1960 aerial photo shows nothing but the Soo Line track, open fields, and a few houses.

The June 4, 1963 photo shows the Reynold’s building in the lower left corner with what looks to be new grading around it, possibly open doors on the east side, a freshly laid track spur, and what looks like an empty parking lot in the front. June 4, 1963 occurred on a Thursday and the shadows show a mid-morning sun. If the parking lot is indeed empty it would appear to not yet be in production. It is somewhat difficult to tell because the cars may not be distinguishable due to the brightness of the exposure. Also, the detail on the west end of the roof over the enclosed spur is either too bright or has not yet been installed.

The July 7, 1963 photo, however, shows in the lower right corner a full parking lot and a little cleaner area surrounding the building, perhaps a month’s worth of vegetation growth covering what appeared to be exposed dirt in the earlier photograph.

So the building had rail service from the beginning most likely receiving raw materials and/or shipping finished product out via rail.

Today the Soo Line is operated by Canadian Pacific and still sees frequent traffic. The building is now used by International Paper and the surrounding area has changed drastically as shown on current day aerial views from Bing.

A complete list of references, resources, and additional information, may be found on my Reynolds Aluminum Plant wiki notes page. There are also links to the patent cases (ruling and reversal) which I actually found to be interesting reads as they detail dates and processes, and two articles about can manufacturing (Made How and Chymist). The New York Times obituary for David P. Reynolds is also a good read especially when it mentions he was so enthused about aluminum he would give his wife aluminum jewelry.

Thanks to my Nebraska Correspondent, Grant, who asked me to locate and research the plant. I had some fun doing it and remind others that I am open to any White Bear Lake/Saint Paul, Minnesota, or Eastern Nebraska Platte River Valley research topic even if it only has a minor connection to railroads. Special thanks to the White Bear Lake Area Historical Society for use of the 1970 building photo from their collection. Also, don’t forget to check out the MHAPO collection, I have found it very useful through the years as they have aerial photos of Minnesota dating back to 1920.

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.

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