Trains Along the Upper Mississippi Volume One

Producer: Pentrex

Locations: St. Paul, River Jct., Winona, Red Wing, Dayton’s Bluff

Timeframe: 1999

Length: 1 hour 47 minutes

Canadian Pacific’s River Subdivision. Action on Western side of the Mississippi River. Filmed in all seasons. CP took over from Soo in 1990.

A single DVD. Full screen 4×3 aspect ratio. Live environmental audio. Pro shot. Balanced soundtrack.

Main Chapter Menu by location. Hidden chapter advance function. On-screen graphics. A map. Preview section. David Drui narrative.

Canadian Pacific is the star of the show. Soo Line and Milwaukee Road were the previous operators. Also, I&MRL runs via trackage rights. Amtrak has Empire Builder passenger service. Shortline Dakota & Minnesota Eastern, and some more run through units.

To the Trains… 👉

First up crossing The Mississippi River Swing Bridge at  LaCresent, Minnesota. CP Train 217 from LaCrosse, Wisconsin. This train is a Portage to St. Paul Wayfreight. Two Soo Line locomotives with mixed freight cars.  Sports a caboose.

We are at River Jct. in a winter scene. Montana Rail Link 702 (SD-35) waits while the Conductor clears the switch. Train 99.

Now, along the river in late fall. Priority 429 led by a Soo and faded CP Rail SD. Chicago to Edmundton. 1650 ms

Winona is the largest town along the route. Milwaukee Road station and Freight House are dilapidated. IMRL train 98 is behind engines 701/ 211 as it hauls past the still in service depot. This Intermodal is a Kansas City to Shoreham Yard at Minneapolis move.

Former Milwaukee Road GP40 2032 leads this grimy pair in bandit paint. CP 217 to St. Paul.

CP #393 runs by McCarthy Lake with three engines out of Bensenville with mixed cars and no destination. CP 776 is the leader.

CP 8501 on #561. A Chicago to Winnipeg Manifest. It meets the stopped Wabasha local power with a Soo GP 40.

Fresh paint on an ex: Soo Line GP38-2. CP Rail System 4440 leads this move along the Mississippi River. Canadian Pacific Train 217. Wayfreight from Portage to St. Paul. Scene is at Maple Springs next to Highway 61.

Amtrak train #8 is Empire Builder. It is hauled by engine #20 . Gently slows to a stop at Red Wing. Running as an extra section. It is one hour late today. 113

CP 8512 leads this pair at Dayton’s Bluff with Train 429. A Priority move from Chicago to Edmundton.142

It is enjoyable to have some cabooses on trains. Number 63 is on a Wayfreight.

Trains Along the Upper Mississippi Volume One

The variety of locomotives is surprising. Plenty of variety with CP and SOO. Additional units from IRML, BNSF and leased power. Many trains have symbol plus origin/ destination listings.

Assorted old stations add interest. Local freights popup from time to time. Usually older diesels. Amtrak’s Empire Builder has two stops on this sub.

The only issue is with some of the paint on locomotives and many of the once colorful Canadian grain cars. The bright red Canadian Pacific engines doesn’t age well. Same with dilapidated appearance on once great looking grain hoppers. Milwaukee Road GP40 units look like junk. No deduction as it is simply the reality of weathering. Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out.

As we expect, Pentrex has high quality throughout the show. It is an excellent visit to the CP River sub. An interesting show that can provide good reruns.

Rating: 5 Stars