Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway (M&StL) 1949 Promo film

This is a wonderful, vintage 1949 promotional film, titled, "Fast Freight", that was produced for the Minneapolis and St Louis Railway. It's about an M&StL shipper customer who is provided an opportunity to ride aboard one of the railway's "Fast Freights" from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Peoria, Illinois and consequently he's able to see the Minneapolis & St. Louis up close in action enroute.
On this trip an Electro Motive (EMD) FT A-B-A set of covered wagon diesel locomotives pulls the train southbound towards Peoria. Along the way are seen much of what was then the latest M&StL motive power such as EMD and ALCO road and switch engines and even an older Electro Motive gas electric passenger unit pulling a new stainless steel passenger coach. A few M&StL steam locomotives are visible too. In particular, a 2-8-2 Mikado type engine being shopped at Minneapolis (Cedar Lake yard).
Also seen are the various railroad yards and industries as the train passes through towns such as New Prague and Albert Lea, MN, as well as Mason City, Marshalltown (a short glimpse of the shops there), and Oskaloosa, IA. Finally, are seen the railway's bridge spanning the Mississippi River between Iowa and Illinois, coal strip mines in action in west central Illinois and then finally the arrival at the yard in Peoria.
Hope you enjoy this trip back in time along "The Peoria Gateway"! (That was the slogan the M&StL used to promote to customers that the railroad avoided eastbound railroad traffic through the bottleneck of Chicago).

[@bigpoppa101101]

It's sad how much things have changed in such a short time. RIP M&STL

[@6h471]

My mother grew up in Aberdeen SD. The locals there had a couple of different uncomplimentary names for the M& St L, one I remember was " Maimed & Still Limping".

[@robertwollin7373]

Spent first 8 years of my life in Chaska. Great to see the old sugar factory and piles of sugar beets.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

I worked for the C&NW RR through the 1980s operating one of their ultra-sound rail test trucks. Over those years I tested the old M&StL rails all the way from Minneapolis to Oskaloosa, IA plus a number of branch lines.

[@morg52]

The Cannon river valley bicycle trail between Cannon falls and Redwing, Is a former M&StL route.

[@glenbard657]

Thanks for posting this film. Those M&StL F units sure were sharp looking. A couple years ago I saw what was left of the Keithsburg bridge. It was nice to see the parts that no longer exist. Back in 2007, Guy Brenkman erected a display on the levee in Keithburg. It had an ex-Great Northern GP9 painted in M&StL's red and white scheme and a caboose painted and lettered for the CB&Q (it was not ex-CB&Q). I was hoping to photograph them when I was there a few years ago and I found out that the levee had collapsed in a Mississippi River flood in 2008 and both the engine and caboose were scrapped.

[@marvinwatkins8889]

I love the "spontaneity" of the office "meeting."

[@RK-xv9rp]

Thank you for posting this video. It was fun to see a long-gone granger railroad as it was. My grandfather was the construction superintendent for the new M&St.L office building in south Minneapolis in the early 1950s. There is a picture of the structure in the book, Mileposts on the Prairie. It's a shame Benjamin Heineman got ahold of the M&St.L. I won't say that the line would still be here today, but he sure destroyed it ahead of its time. As a little kid we were driving along the Mississippi one summer day and we came upon a bridge which I thought had collapsed into the river. Many years later I read whereby this was one of Heineman's deeds and he had ordered the bridge kicked off its pilings and into the river. This was the big bridge at Keithsburg, Iowa as shown in the movie.

[@glenbard657]

You mean Keithsburg, Illinois not Iowa.

[@glenbard657]

This is what I found about the demise of the bridge on John Weeks' website: "On June 30, 1981, a group of youth decided that the bridge would make a good launching point for their private fireworks display. A shell entered the bridge tenders shack and exploded. That set the shack on fire, which then set the grease on the bridge mechanism on fire. The fire eventually caused the lift span to fail and drop into the Mississippi River. The accident blocked river traffic for several days until the US Army Corps of Engineers could remove the collapsed bridge section. Later, a second bridge section and the piers were removed to make a very wide navigation channel. The rest of the bridge survives some 25 years later. There is some track on the Iowa side. The track has been removed from the Illinois side, and the right of way has been removed in places to facilitate water flow in the back water areas."

[@scottrayhons2537]

I used to sit in the 3rd story of the school in Hayfield Iowa and look out to the west to see the M &St L cross the diamond with the Rock Island Line till the teacher would ask me to pay attention to what's going on here in class. The Hayfield Ia School closed in 1968 and merged with Garner.

[@michaelmckenzie5232]

Back when America was truly great

[@ericoxner326]

I recall locomotives like this on yhe seaboard air line.Well they merged with acl. So it was seaboard coast line.Being close enough yo heat yhe trains roll by.I saw a lot of GP7 AND 9.Sometimes you would see 6 or 7 locomotives pulling a long train.Heck yhere still a few wooden boxcars around.They had steel bracing.I wished I had tsken pictures.I think how tough the railroad men were to work back then.

[@knicklas48]

Thanks for posting. I grew up near the M & St L tracks at Ackley, Iowa. Had my first train ride on one of their 'puddle jumpers' in the early 50s.

[@TRAINRUNNA1]

knicklas48 We still use the tracks at Ackley to spot an industry south of the IC now CN Waterloo Sub. The double head pot signal is still lit all red at the diamond even though all the track north of the diamond is gone. I always wondered where this track went, great story

[@jslasher1]

Not sure what a 'puddle jumper' is but suspect it's what we in Australia refer to as a 'motor rail' or a 'Doodlebug'.

[@karlkleimenhagen9918]

Thank you. I enjoyed looking at the old views around here in Peoria. The views of the strip mines west of Farmington were informative. At one of the similar mines northwest of Peoria, two of those large coal shovels were simply abandoned in their pits and soon became "islands" as the mines filled with water. Further along the line towards Peoria, the mine area was reclaimed as a fine apple orchard, one still in operation today.

[@douglasskaalrud6865]

The grain elevator at 8:07 has been a luxury apartment building for decades now. The conversion wasn’t repeated in other elevators around Minneapolis as it was found the costs were just too high. It’s a very cool looking building though.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Thanks for that "fun fact!"

[@kentkearney6623]

IS THAT NEAR THE CARDINAL BAR

[@airminnesota]

Love the video! At 8:00 that looks like the Kenilworth Channel Bridge between Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles. And at 8:06 the bridge above looks like the West Lake Street Bridge, and the tracks to the far right are the Milwaukee Road where the 29th Street Trench soon begins (now the Midtown Greenway). If anyone knows for sure that would be great! I love walking around where the Cedar Lake Yard used to be. Times sure have changed. Also, the tracks west of the Minneapolis suburb of Hopkins to Chaska were abandoned and removed in 1992, the last operations by the Chicago & Northwestern. It is now a rail-trail. From Chaska the tracks were used until the mid-2000s when the trestle spanning the Minnesota River collapsed due to flooding. At that time Union Pacific was serving the Sugar Beet Plant in Chaska. After the trestle collapsed the tracks into Chaska were abandoned and removed. The tracks to New Prague and Montgomery still exist, owned by Union Pacific. South of Montgomery the tracks are no longer there.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

+airminnesota I was employed by the C&NW as an ultra-sound rail test truck operator (pretty much like a Sperry car). Back in the early 1980's and into late 1980's, I rail tested over the years most of the Minneapolis and St Louis between the Twin Cities and Oskaloosa, IA. I recall going through areas you mentioned such as Hopkins and the Cedar Lake Yard. Also remember passing through many of the towns mentioned here including Albert Lea, Marshalltown (where I lived for a while) and I even got to inspect the rail on the short section of M&StL track still existing around Peoria. One thing I recall from testing the M&StL track is that there were a lot of 10025 pound rail in use where we detected a fair amount of transverse fissure defects (a nasty defect that could eventually lead to a rail breaking in two).

[@billinindiana1]

The Peoria connection joined Nickel Plate RR with points for Lafayette/Kokomo Indiana for points in Michigan and Ohio, etc.

[@marvinwatkins8889]

"Mighty fine freight railroading!" - Eamon Saint Tell.

[@billinindiana1]

Great civility and manners.

[@90STETURBO]

wonderful is right. good film of the "louie"

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

FTs were built as semi perm coupled engines. as such they were almost always seen as an A-B consist. this is an A-B-A very unusual. cant think i have ever seen this before.

[@Eric-xr3xx]

That is a three unit set of FT Diesels, not F-3's. The 4 closely spaced portholes are the main spotting feature. Great footage of a mainline that's mostly long gone. Thanks for posting.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Eric, you are indeed right. The lead "F" unit used on the road train in this film is M&StL 445 and it checks out as an FTA. Thanks for the correction which is reflected in my description for this film about the M&StL.

[@RK-xv9rp]

It's interesting the FTs were equipped with dynamic brakes on a prairie railroad.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

@@RK-xv9rp Thanks for pointing that out about the M&StL's FTs. Guess they were ahead in the railroad industry for being an early user of dynamic brakes on diesel locomotives typically operated on relatively flat territory.

[@edwardstd52]

Amazing film, even if the script seems a bit dated. I see that they managed to get a few seconds of film from my hometown of New Ulm. ;-D

[@scottrayhons2537]

New Ulm, old-tyme polka music capitol.

[@edwardstd52]

@@scottrayhons2537 And home to Schells Beer! 😁

[@FPM811]

Sorry to know the whole railroad and its facilities are long gone. Little track remains in operation.

[@marvinwatkins8889]

Fast freight and super streamliners: a perfect world indeed.

[@claremorgan9896]

I am from Montgomery!

[@woodsarthobbies6515]

Any trains going to Rainy Lake?

[@WAL_DC-6B]

+EXCUSE ME! I AM THE ARTS! If you're referring to Rainy Lake, Minnesota, (on the border with Ontario, Canada) then the answer is no, there were no M&StL trains that ever went to that area of the "Land of 10,00 Lakes". All M&StL trackage went west and south of the Twin Cities. Try the Northern Pacific as they went to nearby International Falls!

[@gregobern6084]

CN

[@w.rustylane5650]

Not in stereo, eh?

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Nope!

[@TweezersUnlimited]

14:40

[@kentkearney6623]

Laminated wooden rafters of Albert Lea buildings I think were accidentally destroyed by homeless crackheads a year or two ago.

[@tootired76]

They must have known in 1949 railroads were doomed. Hence the cheesy promotional film!! I understand that only half of the original railroad trackage still exists in Minnesota...

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Probably about half the original railroad trackage of the entire network in Iowa still exists. Thankfully, railroads were not "doomed." In most cases they just eliminated excess trackage that was no longer profitable.