Towns and Nature

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Breckenridge, MN: Wood, 3 Rail Served Grain Elevators and GN Roundhouse

Wood: (Satellite)

Minn-Kota: (Satellite)

Red River Grain: (Satellite)

Sunrich Products: (Satellite)

Roundhouse: (Satellite)

The wood elevator is one of the three rail-served elevators.

Street View, Jul 2024

The first three photos below are of the above elevator. I could not find the elevator for the fourth photo.

Wesley Peters posted four photos with the comment:

Grain Elevator Photography Trip 2, North Dakota/South Dakota/Minnesota.
Breckenridge, Wilkin County, MN.
North Complex- Early history unknown.
South Complex- Early history unknown.
Photographed on 7/20/2025.
Photos courtesy of Wesley Peters.

This is the next elevator to the east, Minn-Kota.

Street View, Jul 2024

It also has a fall protector. The in the right background is the Red River Grain Elevator.

Street View, Jul 2024

I'm using a satellite image instead of a street view for Red River Grain because it is so big and because I want to show the loop of track that can efficiently load unit trains. Sunrich Products in the upper-left corner producest sunflower products.

Satellite

Photo, Mar 2026

Great Northern, Northern Pacific and Milwaukee used to serve this town.

1953/65 Fargo Quad @ 250,000

BNSF kept the GN spokes going North and Southeast. Red River Valley & Western (RRVW) took the GN spoke going Northwest and connected the western spoke of Northern Pacific to its track. Popups on the map shows that BNSF owns the industrial tracks on the right side. NP to the East and Milwaukee have been abandoned.

National Rail Network Map

I think RRVW now uses the former GN railyard. The street view at the top of these notes shows four of their locomotives.

Satellite

The GN roundhouse is extant.

Satellite

Street View, Jul 2024

I wonder what they used to process here.

Street View, Oct 2012

Fassett, PA: Lost/Pennsy Tower for a Siding

(Satellite)

Darren Reynolds posted

A Pennsy Freight passes by Abandoned "Fassett" tower

Photo by: Unknown

Date: Unknown

Drew Guild: On the Elmira Branch.

Dennis DeBruler: The date of the photo is 1957: https://jbritton.pennsyrr.com/index.php/tpm/blogs/latest-articles-blog/488-on-location-8269-fassett

Larry Candilas commented on Darren's post
Unknown date but its in operation here - from the internet

Larry Candilas commented on Darren's post

track chart 1964

OldDepotGallery
"By the fall of 1957, all steam engines were retired on the Pennsy's Elmira Branch as 126-years of steam powered railroading ended on the Pennsylvania Railroad.
"NOW AVAILABLE - a limited number of 13" x 19" Giclée prints signed and numbered by the artist (limited to 250 copies) The prints are reproduced on 51-lb. heavy weight, Epson paper and printed with archival inks. Price........$50.00 plus $7.00 Shipping & Handling (US only contact us for S&H cost to locations outside of the United States)"

The photos show that it controlled the siding that was north of town. Today's Sheddens Way Road reuses part of the Pennsy RoW. The aerial photo below shows that it was at the south end of the siding just north of where PA-14 crossed the tracks.

1954/56 Gillett Quad @ 24,000

PA-14 was moved between this 1952 aerial and the above 1954 topo map. The map is consistent with today's alignment of the road. There are two rectangles parallel to the tracks. The topo map indicates that the tower was the northern rectangle, which was behind this building.

Apr 17, 1952 @ 31,000; AR1UN0000020188

Trussville, AL: Museum/Standard Gas Station

(Satellite)

He has a glass-cylinder pump on the right as well as two flow-meter pumps on the island.

Street View, Apr 2022

I can't tell where the decimal points are.

Street View, Apr 2021

Scott Johnson posted three photos with the comment: "Still standing in Trussville, Alabama. Only now it's a museum."

Russell Wells: Yeah - conflicting Standard Oils. Alabama was Kentucky Standard (neon sign in the third picture) - torch & oval in that state was Amoco/American.

Eddie Vidrine: Russell Wells Private collector can display what he likes. No conflict for me. I just want to take a tour !

[Indeed, it is a museum rather than a preservation. And another comment pointed out that you want the SYSO neon sign safely inside.]

Originally, the building was a Gulf station built in the late 1950s.

classiccarsgaragemuseum
"The station was transformed to a Standard Oil Service Station and remains original down to the water fountain and restrooms. Today the building is Classic Cars and Garage Museum hosting a private collection of cars and collectables. The collectables range from gas and oil to Coca-Cola memorabilia."

I could not reconcile some interior shots with what we see on the outside. Then I learned that the museum also uses the building behind the station.