MD&W Iron Horses draw attention, two put out to pasture
Some sights are so integral in a small town that they blend with the landscape — as do familiar buildings, streetlights, or monuments which have stood the test of time.
Thus, the back and forth traverse of the Minnesota Dakota & Western Railway switch engines between the main body of International Falls and its highway heading east is routinely just an annoyance for local drivers whose busy minds hold little consciousness of the action before them.
But a closer inspection of two locomotives in particular will reveal that a couple of new “Iron Horses” have been added to the local locomotive stable. And as these hit the local rails, two antiquated switch engines will be put out to pasture.
MD&W’s existing fleet of four ALCO S-2 switch engines were all built by the American Locomotive Company in the early 1940s. And while it is not uncommon for locomotives of this vintage to continue rolling for decades and decades, keeping them operational is becoming increasingly difficult, MD&W General Manager Darwin Joslyn told The Journal.
Meanwhile, the ALCO switch engines attract a fair amount of attention from railroad aficionados and collectors passing through town, according to Pete Schultz, director of the area convention and visitors bureau. Shultz’s office is close to MD&W, in a brick building which unmistakably once served as the local train depot.
“(The engines) are becoming rare and are much sought by railroad buffs,” Schultz said. “They (train enthusiasts) come here to see the engines still in use and are enthralled by the whistling sound of the diesel winding up — apparent music to their ears.”
One reader wrote on Facebook regarding these switch engines, “I worked in a hobby shop a few years ago and the train guy was all over these locomotives. Not many left in operation and very coveted in the model train world.”
But the newcomers in the rail yard are Electro-Motive Diesel or EMD SW-10 switchers, a purchase determined by an MD&W team under the charge of outgoing manager Bill Roufs, whom Joslyn recently replaced. Roufs reported in a Boise company newsletter that “The new systems are much lighter and, most importantly, have more safety features than the current model.”
The decision was prudent, Joslyn said, because as ALCO parts are harder to come by and thereby more expensive, the locomotives are increasingly rendered inefficient. ALCO stopped locomotive production in 1969.
But Joslyn acknowledges the nostalgic feature of the ALCOs.
“We have people asking if they can takes pictures,” Joslyn said. “Rail fans tend to like those engines.” As Joslyn speaks via telephone from his MD&W office, the lonesome whistle known for its embodiment of solemn feelings, is heard in the distance.
The Boise newsletter reported a total expenditure of $834,000 for the two upgraded EMD locomotives. While the price tag on just one new engine is about $1 million, the upgraded engines which have been improved and completely overhauled deliver not only cost savings but also a higher reliability than the ALCOs.
“... This selection will continue to benefit our railroad well into the future,” Joslyn predicted in the newsletter.
MD&W’s incoming engines were upgraded in the 1980s by Union Pacific. Just over 1,000 of the 125-ton engines with 1,200 horse power were originally built by General Motors EMD between 1954 and 1966.
The rebuilt EMD SW-10 models sport a slightly different color scheme than the ALCOs, Joslyn said. A closer inspection of the new switchers reveals the railroad’s whole name spelled out in a fluorescent lettering across a deeper shade of green.
Just what are those
trains doing all day?
A subsidiary of Boise Paper Holding, L.L.C., the Minnesota Dakota & Western Railway company serves to transport finished products for both the International Falls and Fort Frances paper mills.
Railroad employees work the Highway 11 East intersection from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. in two eight-hour shifts with two engines — two in the morning and two in the evening.
“We’re over to Abitibi (Bowater, the Fort Frances plant) six times a day, and into Boise six to eight times a day,” Joslyn said, adding that workers also build trains in the yard and make a shove out to Ranier everyday. MD&W employs 30 people in Minnesota.
Local engineers are pleased with the switcher replacements and already report improvement with the switching process. The installations of remote-control systems for the new EMD engines are underway, which will allow their movement to be controlled by a man on the ground.
What happens
to the nostalgic ALCOs?
Two of the old ALCOs are destined to be retired when all systems are go for the incoming EMDs. The ALCOs could be advertised for sale with some scenic railways already expressing interest, according to Joslyn, or they could be kept for parts. “The problem is their old grease-box bearings,” versus the roller-bearing type, he said.
For local folks who travel east of the city and back, nothing much has changed at the train crossing. Railroad workers and the mill’s paper distributors will experience the difference; and a few discerning eyes and others who are interested will note the change.
But as the crossing lights flash, most drivers will still mutter to themselves about being pushed another five minutes behind schedule. And train lovers in the distance will still pause for a moment — to hear the haunting, isolated sound of locomotives.
Note: Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. is a privately held company that designs, manufactures and sells diesel-electric locomotives and diesel power engines worldwide under the Electro-Motive brand. EMD originated diesel-electric motive power for railways and is currently the world's largest builder of diesel-electric locomotives.
Switchers: Rail’s analog to tugboats
A switcher is a railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains over long distances but rather for assembling trains ready to be moved by a road locomotive; disassembling an arriving train; and moving railroad cars around. The process is generally known as switching.
The typical switcher is optimized for its job, with a high-starting tractive effort for getting heavy cars rolling quickly. Switchers are geared to produce high torque but have small-diameter driving wheels and restricted top speeds.
Switching is hard work, and heavily used switch engines wear out quickly from the abuse of constant hard contacts with cars and frequent starting and stopping.
