Friday, December 8, 2017

Minneapolis, MN: 1976 BNSF/Northern Pacific Northtown Yard and General Mills Oat Mill

3D Satellite

This photo was taken around the lower-right corner of the above satellite image looking across the turntable and at the mill
Jacob Sheffield posted
Too much to list here. Northtown Yard, Minneapolis, Minnesota. May 6th 2017.

I Love Trains posted
photo courtesy of Timothy Taylor - what goes where?
Gary Richard Nelson: BN Northtown Yard, Fridley, Mn.
Trainbook posted
Minneapolis, MN: BNSF/Northern Pacific Northtown Yard and General Mills Oat Mill.
Here it is:
Thanks a lot, Timothy Taylor, for pointing out this great pic!
 
Viral Media posted
BNSF Northtown Yard
Built on the site of the old Northern Pacific yard in Minneapolis, the BN Northtown Yard was built between 1971 and 1976, and includes a classification yard, engine house and car repair facility.

Timoth D. Sievern posted
Burlington Norhtern book cover
BURLINGTON NORTHERN
A Great Adventure, 1970–1979.
 
Viral Media posted
BNSF Northtown Yard
There are eight BNSF hump yard facilities across the country that sort and group freight cars destined to arrive at specific locations
BNSF hump yards: Barstow, California; Galesburg, Illinois; Kansas City, Kansas; Lincoln, Nebraska; Memphis; Tennessee; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Pasco, Washington; and Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Northtown yard lies north of downtown Minneapolis, on the east side of the Mississippi, along the old NP line north to St. Cloud. After the BN merger, BN Northtown Yard was built between 1971 and 1976, including a classification yard, engine house and car repair facility. Northtown is a classification yard that sorts cars to their destination, much like a post office sorts mail. The “bowl tracks” fan out from the hump in a series automated of switches, with each track representing a destination. The gravity of the hill propels the freight cars (or block of cars) into the classification bowl. Retarders (brakes) located on the tracks, limits the speed the cars to 4 mph as they travel into their assigned destination tracks.
Arriving manifest trains enter the Receiving Yard. The cars are then “classified” over the hump to sort them by destination. The sorted freight cars are then assembled into outgoing trains in the Departure yard.
This map is not to scale as the facility is 4 miles in length. It is derived from GIS data and was created by Railroad Journal.
Dennis DeBruler: I've seen in more reliable sources that 4mph is the coupling speed limit, not the travel speed.

Google Maps labels this grain elevator as General Mills Inc - Fridley Oat Mill.
Street View
 
Viral Media posted
General Mills at NorthTown Yard
The huge grain silos at General Mills in Fridley, Minnesota are adjacent to the BNSF Northtown receiving yard. 1 billion pounds a year of oats pass through General Mills’ Fridley mill. The plant produces most of General Mills’ oat flour for the North American market. The flour is used for Lucky Charms and Cheerios.
General Mills has spent tens of millions of dollars at its Fridley flour mill to produce oat flour that’s free of gluten. A new seven-story concrete tower was built and equipped with machines to weed out little bits of wheat, barley and rye that sneak into shipments of oats from the farm.

Marty Bernard posted
𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐱𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬
Northern Pacific SW1200 155 built in 1957 and became BN 214 then BNSF 3545i in Minneapolis, MN, June 3, 1964.
When I took this slide I thought nothing of all those boxcars. I mean, boxcars are forever, right?
Tom Lyman: he locomotive is on the NP, A Line EB mainline. Most likely the Grove Yd. job, or The Brewery job.
 
Marty Bernard posted
SW1200 156 was in Minneapolis, Northtown Yard, when I found her next to a sea of box cars. 156 was built in 1957 and became BN 214 and then BNSF 3545.  June 1964
 
Marty Bernard posted
Very many BN Cascade Green Power in Northtown Yard, Minneapolis, MN July 4, 1977.  Looks like they are all lined up to be fireworks.  Larry Anglund photo, Iowa Chapter NRHS collection
Which one is Cascade Green?  As someone editing BN slide scans, that is an ongoing problem.

a
View of the Northtown hump yard, or “bowl,” with secondary retarders in foreground. Master retarder is below bottom edge of photo. Downtown Minneapolis is visible in background.

b
[They are replacing the master retarder.]

This yard is huge. Further to the south is a diesel servicing facility and a hump yard.


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