Didn't I Just See You Two Weeks Ago?

The locomotive pictured on the front of this post card is a Baldwin DT6-6-2000. It is seen here with a freight train on May 20, 1971 at Minneapolis.

Two weeks ago, I posted about its sister locomotive (Number 21) which worked for the same railroad, the Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern Railway. These two locomotives are twin-engined diesel-electric transfer switchers, built by Baldwin Locomotive Works between 1946 and 1950. 45 locomotives were built using 6-cylinder turbocharged 606SC prime movers during 1948–1950. Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway #21 is the only DT-6-6-2000 preserved. It is owned by the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois where it remains in operable condition. Adam Burns of American Rails https://www.american-rails.com/20001.html writes this about the Baldwin DT6-6-2000: The DT-6-6-2000 was one of the most interesting models released by a major manufacturer. This design was a specialized type of locomotive intended for use in heavy drag service over short distances, such as on terminal railroads or moving cuts of cars between local yards. Believing that there was a market for such, Baldwin released the DT-6-6-2000 directly after World War II, one of first models to employ the company's own prime mover. As a switcher, it was massive and, longer than virtually every road switcher or cab unit on the market at that time. As John Kirkland explains in "The Diesel Builders: Volume Three," the locomotive featured dual control stands for maximum flexibility, thus allowing operation in either direction without turning the locomotive. Ironically, for a design geared towards switching, the DT-6-6-2000 retained a high-hood on both ends, thus restricting a crew's 360-degree view from either the ground (seeing the engineer) or the cab (seeing the crew). Unfortunately, the design had mechanical issues and railroads were never really interested in such a specialized locomotive resulting in fewer than 50 constructed when production had ended.

This post card is another of the post cards in my collection from Mary Jayne’s Railroad Specialties. I have written about her many times because I have 243 of her post cards in my collection. The photo was taken by A. Robert Johnson.

Beast of Burden

The locomotive pictured on the front of this post card is a Baldwin DT-6-6-2000. I will be giving more details in two weeks when I post about its sister locomotive, Number 23. This post is about the railroad for which these two locomotives operated. This website provides information about the railway for which this locomotive worked: https://www.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/thing/minneapolis-northfield-and-southern-railway The Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway (MN&S) was a Minnesota short-line railroad that operated between the cities of Crystal and Northfield from 1918 until 1982. It was a profitable bridge line, routing traffic past the crowded freight yards of the Twin Cities onto connecting railroads at Northfield, connecting with the Rock Island, the Chicago Great Western, and the Milwaukee Road. The financially unsuccessful predecessor of the MN&S was the Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Dubuque Electric Traction Company. The road was to be electrified and use a system of overhead catenary wires to provide power to locomotives. Freight traffic generally utilized steam locomotives instead. Passenger service was offered using “doodlebugs,” unique gas-electric hybrid locomotives that were ideal for providing limited passenger and even mixed-freight service over smaller railroads. In 1916, and the short line entered receivership. The MN&S grew out of this defunct line under Henry E. Pence in 1918. The new railroad used trackage rights over the Chicago Great Western to extend service to Randolph and Mankato. Rights also extended to the Luce Line railroad, an agricultural sister line that extended to the rich croplands of western Minnesota. The MN&S also built an extension from its junction with the Luce Line west of Minneapolis northward to the rails of the Soo Line in Crystal. The MN&S was thus able to access Shoreham Yard, the Soo Line’s major local terminal in north Minneapolis. This also allowed the line an interchange with the nearby terminal of the Northern Pacific, the Northtown yard. The new line became a well-positioned road with access to the major carriers of the Twin Cities. The MN&S had a competitive advantage as a bridge line and offered many connections to virtually all larger freight carriers in the Twin Cities. The railroad built a servicing facility for motive power to the west of Glenwood Park in Golden Valley, connecting it to the main line by a small spur. The line used 2-10-0 Decapod-type locomotives, having purchased seven in the 1930s and several more in the following decade. The doodlebugs maintained a limited passenger service over the route, and they came from several manufacturers, such as General Electric and the Wason Company. The MN&S eventually abandoned passenger service as less than profitable. The last run—a trip to Northfield—took place on April 30, 1942. The late 1940s saw the end of the steam era on the MN&S and the switch to diesel. The line received its first center-cab road switching locomotive from the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1948. The railroad took subsequent delivery of the unique diesel units in 1949 and 1953, as well as other units from Baldwin and the Fairbanks-Morse Company. The company also acquired motive power from the Electromotive division of General Motors. In June 1982, the Soo Line purchased the MN&S, and the line ran its last freight train. Most of the system continued to exist, operated in sections by several other railroads. Here is the back of the post card: