RAILROAD SIGNALS of the U.S.

RAILFAN GUIDE to
ALBERT LEA, MN

 

Years ago, Albert Lea had a lot of railroading for it's size.  Now, it's pretty quiet, with a small UP yard on the northeast side of town.  The tower in the pictures below is closed, and these signals are typical of how railroads now protect crossings with other railroads. 

The Union Pacific trackage used to belong to the CNW, and the IC&E was formerly the Milwaukee (and then SOO).  I need to do further research into the lineage for the DM&E/UP's track heading NW out of town, after it was the M&StL.  If anyone knows and wants to share, please email me.

My pictures were taken in October of 2006 on a field trip with Jim Mihalek and Mike Miller.  Jim's pictures are more recent from 2009. 

This page originally just covered the eastern diamond, but has since grown into a guide for the whole town.  If you're scooting by on the interstates 35 or 90, it's well worth a stop since it's so close.  Mason City Iowa isn't too far away either, and is a favorite railfan spot because of Iowa Traction.

The Lakeside Cafe comes highly recommended. 

Out of the map services from Google, Bing, and Mapquest, Mapquest has the access to the best satellite photos of Albert Lea, as seen below.  My map is available HERE as a PDF.

Here's a couple of links provided by Jim:
Cool stuff on Albert Lea: http://www.cashgroth.com/depots/depalbertlea.html
Info from the CNW Historical Society: http://www.cnwhs.org/archives_maps.htm

     1          The Union Pacific Yard

     2          The eastern Diamond between the IC&E and the UP

     1        Signal on the west side of Newton

     2        Signals on the east side of Newton and at the diamond

     3          The ex Milwaukee Depot

     4          The ex M&StL Depot

     5          The western Diamond between the IC&E and the UP

     
Left - looking south; right - looking north across the diamond with the M&StL depot in the distance.  Photos - a big thanks to Jim Mihalek

     4        Looking east with the simple diamond crossing protection signal, there is also one for the N-S UP track.

   Jim Mihalek

     6          The UP junction on the south side

     5        The EB Distant Signal at Front St.

   Jim Mihalek

The grain tower that the DM&E services, a little north of Albert Lea

   Jim Mihalek

New: 2-19-2010
Mod: 26-Feb-2010