Railfan Sites in North Dakota
A self-guiding railfan tour
Railfan, railfan--where do you see trains in North Dakota?
Mapwork: If you're going to be looking for railfan locations, you'll need an industrial strength map resource. I definitely recommend you get a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, study it before your trip, and copy pertinent pages for your field work. You can find information here about Railfan Maps that are available.
Cities And Sites
- Bismarck -- DMVW (1)
- Mandan (1)
- Mandan -- Photo Locations West (1)
- Minot -- Soo Tower (1)
(1) Thanks to Joseph Oates, who winters in the south, and spends warmer times as a camping vagabond, driving around recording railfan site data. We hope to hear more from him in the future.
BISMARCK -- DAKOTA, MISSOURI VALLEY AND WESTERN (July 31, 1999)
The DMVW is headquartered in Bismarck, and has an engine facility at the vicinity of East Main Avenue and 24th Street. The engines are behind a gas station.
Thanks to Joseph Oates, who winters in the south, and spends warmer times as a camping vagabond, driving around recording railfan site data. We hope to hear more from him in the future.
MANDAN (August 1, 1999)
Mandan is across the Missouri River from Bismarck. Essentially, two things happen here: The East-West BNSF mainline comes across the Missouri River from Bismarck, and heads straight west towards Glendive, Montana. Also, there is a branch northwest from the mainline, which serves two large coal mines. There is a yard in Mandan, and it apparently largely exists to support the branch line's coal business. Railfanning here is fairly active, as there are several photo locations, and the yard is paralled by major streets in most locations.
From the corner of Main Street and Mandan Avenue, the junction of the branch and mainline is in the southeast quadrant of the intersection, and the yard is in the southwest quadrant. I-94 Business Loop (Main Street) runs east-west north of the yard for some two miles. Going south from this intersection will immediately take you over the junction: Note that I-94 Business Loop turns south from Main Street and on to Mandan Avenue (?) at the intersection.
Fast food, motels, gas and supermarkets are available on Main Street. Expect 1 train per hour on average here. There is an overpass on the west end of the yard, which will give you some photo ops.
Thanks to Joseph Oates, who winters in the south, and spends warmer times as a camping vagabond, driving around recording railfan site data. We hope to hear more from him in the future.
MANDAN -- PHOTO LOCATIONS WEST (August 1, 1999)
Main Street heads west past the city limits as I-94 Business, and parallels the BNSF main line for several miles. It is on the north of the tracks. There is at least one road which parallels the line from the south: Township Highway 9. This looks to be very close to the tracks in several spots, and might give the energetic some nice photo locations.
Thanks to Joseph Oates, who winters in the south, and spends warmer times as a camping vagabond, driving around recording railfan site data. We hope to hear more from him in the future.
MINOT -- SOO TOWER (July 31, 1999)
In downtown Minot, near the Amtrak station, is the site of Soo Tower, which is long gone, but marked with a sign. Here, CP Rail (ex-Soo) crosses the busy BNSF (ex-GN) main line. In the area is plenty of parking on both sides of the station and in the library parking lot. There is a fairly open area on the south. Further, good shots can be had by parking on the small hill behind a furniture store on Broadway (US-83), but you'll need a telephoto lens. Finally, there are at least two road bridges over the tracks, and even a couple of foot bridges. In the station area itself, you can walk to restaurants, and rest rooms are available. Expect more than 1 train per hour here, on average.
Thanks to Joseph Oates, who winters in the south, and spends warmer times as a camping vagabond, driving around recording railfan site data. We hope to hear more from him in the future.