Ken, Your commentary brings back memories. I recall seeing the Minneapolis-Hutchinson mixed train switching cars on the yard tracks that we under Lyndale Avenue. The mixed always had one of those rare GN NW-5 units equipped with a boiler but still carried an ancient combine painted in Pullman green.
Although I lived two years in Hutchinson, I regret not riding the mixed on Friday afternoon back to Minneapolis. Wending its way around and over the Minnetonka lakes and bays, the train would have offered some scenic vistas one never sees from Highway #7. I had plenty of opportunities to take that ride but never did. Another possibility would have been to go to Kimball north of Hutch and catch the Soo Line local from Enderlin, North Dakota. That thing stopped at every town between there and Minneapolis but would have offered a great ride. Missing these two train rides is something like fishermen's stories of the one that got away. Tom ________________________________________ From: [email protected] [[email protected]] on behalf of mhrywest [[email protected]] Sent: Friday, February 10, 2012 11:03 AM To: [email protected] Subject: {S-Scale List} To the traveling man Jim, The line you are speaking of is the Great Northern Wilmar line, still operated by the BNSF. A little history on the line. Jim Hill of course built it and as you were passing by Wayzata. Had you gone into town, you would have seen a beautiful depot, really larger than a town this size would normally have but it was the destination for the wealthy folks of Minneapolis to get to their vacation homes on Lake Minnetonka. It connected with a full line of "lake boats" used to carry passengers, freight and mail to home around the lake and on the islands. Leaving Wayzata, a branch line left the main and wandered along the lake eventually reaching the Hutchinson Line. It really never served any commercial purpose but it did serve one important customer, James J. Hill and his mansion on Lake Minnetonka. Many interesting things about this place but one in particular is that it had a turntable on the property. Not to turn engines but to turn is private car so it would face the co! rrect direction when he went back. Directly west of Jimmy's property was the Arcola Bridge crossing one of many of Lake Minnetonka's narrows between bays. Just a shot 3/8 of a mile further on this line, Jim built a place for his sister. Unlike Jim's place this one did not have a turntable at the time. The line was abandon by the railroad some years ago, it was a tourist line for a few years and now is a bike trail. However these many years later, the sister's property is owned by another rail Barron. A turntable has been installed as well as many more feet of trackwork. It is a known popular destination for visitors to the Twin Cities. I recall a couple of summers ago, maybe 100 or so visitors gathered to view this railroad and drink Guinnes Beer beer with the Barron himself. I hope you have a few minutes to do so your next trip to the Cities. Ken Zieska ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
