Very nice, really like the paint scheme of the coaches and locomotive. Looks like beautiful country up there, sure to be a nice retreat.Thanks for posting Mike hope you had a great summer! - Balerio
In Canada, we have the exact same engines and cars running with GO Transit. They usually run 1 MP40 locomotive with 10 - 11 bi-level coaches (the ones in the video) along with a rear end cab on a standard commuter line. The rear cab has changed since this video, and these ones are actually a previous model of the rear cab. I love the iconic bell of this model!
Wow! Thanks Mike for this fantastic look at the Northstar! Here I am in Fargo, ND, only 200 miles away from Minneapolis and haven't gotten there to see it yet. You brought to me my first opportunity, so thank you. It is a very colorful train, is it not?
Northstar is a very interesting Commuter Railroad. The MP36's horns kinda sound like air whistles, and the Cab Cars are unique because they are the only existing Bombardier Cab Cars besides those of GO Transit and Tri-Rail which have their logo printed above their upper set of headlights or (in most cases) have an American E-Bell instead of a Canadian E-Bell or Mechanical Bell.
I grew up in Minneapolis, and advocated for rail transit much of my life. People in the north suburbs were not interested in commuter rail until LRT was opened up down Hiawatha Ave. It was rather political, although the commuter bus service up US 10 had been quite popular before Northstar opened. The length of the trains shows you how popular they are. The trains are racing up the BNSF St. Paul to Seattle mainline; the trains run along the old Great Northern mainline from Minneapolis to Willmar, through Northeast Mpls. before turning onto the ex-GN mainline between St. Cloud and St. Paul at the aptly-named "Minneapolis Jct." The paint scheme is similar to the LRT trains.
Love this video. Thank you for sharing. Just recently learned about the Northstar commuter train. Would love to take a ride on it, and it sure is beautiful country in MN, a state that I would love to visit, and I have friends there.
The Northstar Cab Cars are the only 2008-2013 built Bombardier cab cars to have been built with K5LAs. All other cab cars from that era were given custom horns by the systems that bought them.
I live in Minnesota also and I took 2 trains. First I took the Northstar to Target Field and Took the Light Rail to Mall of America and back. That was my first time riding those 2 trains. I am such a train fan. Now I am waiting till this covid-19 to be over so I could ride it again! :D
NCTD (San Diego) runs 1 engine for up to 5 cars and it climbs Sorrento Grade. I know they need another engine for 6 cars because they ran longer trains this year for Comic-Con
These Northstar trains are operated by BNSF crews! 1:03 is it Normal for 5 car trains to have two locomotives? some other commuter railroads can have one loco pull 5 cars! 1:19 too bad that container train was in the way! 1:32 finally, a crossing that uses the horn! that horn sounds odd! Minneapolis also has light rail streetcars! 2:16 I don't know why they use the two locomotives! they have 6 locomotives (fromer Utah transit), 6 cab cars, and 12 normal coaches! Which means 6 three car trains can be run on the system at one time! 2:50 that one crossing bell sounds odd (or is it the train bell?)! 4:29 the cab car has a loco horn, and the loco has a cab car horn!
Loved your vid. So I am just curious, how many bombardiers did the longest Northstar train you see have? I'm surprised they use 2 locos for 5 bombardiers cause I once seen a GO train with 14 bombardiers and one loco in the push mode! Isn't that something? On top of that, GO transit usally uses 1 loco anyway to pull and push 10-12 bombardiers. There sure is a lot of business on their line!
The usual reason they would doublehead is because if one engine breaks down, it won't take up the line and delay other trains. The reason GO Transit trains are so big is different. It's because early on, they became victims of their own success with their Hawker Siddeley Single Level Coaches, and are trying as hard as possible to not let history repeat itself on that.
I don't think hauling capacity has anything to do with it. It's more likely that Northstar engines have a smaller Head End Power generator than GO Transit locomotives. The longer the train, the more power you need for things like AC, lights, phone charging, etc..
What locomotives do these have, where I live GO transit has mpi's mp54ac but they are the most powerful locos MPI makes so I was just wondering which ones northstar uses for these short trains
I am not exactly sure why they do that. It may be some sort of "protect power" that they keep running in case another train breaks down, so that there is always one at the ready. The only other possibility I see is testing following repairs. They do it pretty regularly, so I think the protect power explanation is probably more likely the case, but I am not 100% sure. Thanks for the comment!
Keep in mind the northstar runs on bnsf tracks so you would want two units in case of a issue you don't wanna hold up freight traffic because you broke down.
The cab cars are Raised Letter K5LAs, but they are definitely restricted, those would sound better at a higher PSI... the MP36s, on the other hand, use K3LAs, but they just sound odd for some reason.
Usually they put 2 engines on when they are not running any other trains, then if one of the engines breaks down, they don't have to get another train out on the line.
Think how much money they could've saved by running the northstar out to eden prairie as another line instead of building an entirely new light rail line they could've utilized the northstar more then just going out to big lake and back.
They do it so they can get more speed. Because if they have 2 locos pushing or pulling and both are running at full speed the train can get to it's destination a lot quicker. But otherwise they only have 3 cars with 1 loco because 1 loco can push or pull 3 cars just as easily as 2 can push or pull 5
It's not that they need 2 locomotives to pull the train, but to keep the acceleration high on the peak time schedule. Off peak trains have 3 cars and 1 locomotive so its not a problem then. The faster you can get to top speed, the longer you can run at top speed. The longer you can be at top speed, the further you can go in a set period of time.
Different commuter systems work differently depending on distance from the city (commuter hub) or amount of commuters that actually travel on the line. Given this is Minnesota, my guess is there is not as much commuter traffic as there would be on the NEC or the California Coast. And Zack Bone up there is right. An MPI Xpress unit could easily handle five cars alone, but with 3,600 HP for commuter trains, it would most likely take two of them to keep a five car train running at normal peak-hour schedule. On top of that, it's kinda unfair seeing that the GO Transit Xpress units were designed to have 5,400 HP instead, so they can likely get up to track speed a lot quicker than the 3,600 HP units in use here in the US. I think the highest horsepower commuter diesel unit we have are the HSP-46 units in Boston.
It is. And it's the only 2008-2013 era cab car to use K5LAs. All other operators that use 2008-2013 era cab cars all got custom horns that are different from the standard K5LA these cab cars are usually built with.
![Quando Rondo - Life Goes On [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/eIf3fhMXAow/mqdefault.jpg)
Very colorful locomotives.
• Cheers from The Detroit & Mackinac Railway 🚂
Very nice, really like the paint scheme of the coaches and locomotive. Looks like beautiful country up there, sure to be a nice retreat.Thanks for posting Mike hope you had a great summer!
- Balerio
Thanks Balerio!
Omg🤑
What’s so fascinating
2:50 I have to give you credit for shooting in a Thunderstorm shelterless. Epic shot and epic risk you took! Nice!
@Lionel Hil why did you respond with only their username
Cedarburg Railfan
Probably like to be annoying and only say their name.
Nicholette Casey's Trains hi
@@MetraFan81
Probably has nothing to say lol
Lionel Hill
I’d love to ride on one of these. They look so clean and well kept and such nice colours.
Glasses Gus I’ve ridden on northstar multiple times, it is a very nice and clean train.
In Canada, we have the exact same engines and cars running with GO Transit. They usually run 1 MP40 locomotive
with 10 - 11 bi-level coaches (the ones in the video) along with a rear end cab on a standard commuter line. The rear cab has changed since this video, and these ones are actually a previous model of the rear cab. I love the iconic bell of this model!
Wow! Thanks Mike for this fantastic look at the Northstar! Here I am in Fargo, ND, only 200 miles away from Minneapolis and haven't gotten there to see it yet. You brought to me my first opportunity, so thank you. It is a very colorful train, is it not?
Yes, they have a very nice paint scheme. Thanks for the comment!
Definitely agree a colorful train, love the color on it.
The Northstar is owned and operated by Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minneapolis (Realtors Association of Minneapolis).
I’m glad you enjoyed our trains! Come again soon!
😂
2:40 and 3:09 That would make an awesome poster!
Welcome to Minnesota! (Best railfanning in winter when there is blizzards)
I LOVE THIS VIDEO COASTERFAN2105 !
They need to hurry up and bring the North Star to St. Cloud! It would really be amazing to have easy access to the cities
joshua-taylor: It Was Proposed, Shoud Be There By 2020
It’s 2020 now!
What's the hold up all st cloud needs to do is build a station it runs on the same tracks.
Northstar is a very interesting Commuter Railroad. The MP36's horns kinda sound like air whistles, and the Cab Cars are unique because they are the only existing Bombardier Cab Cars besides those of GO Transit and Tri-Rail which have their logo printed above their upper set of headlights or (in most cases) have an American E-Bell instead of a Canadian E-Bell or Mechanical Bell.
Cool
Sounds like K3LAs on the MP36
Turns out they are K3LAs. Somehow, they sound even better when they're fouled.
Well they are Transtronic E-Bels on some of the cab cars
I grew up in Minneapolis, and advocated for rail transit much of my life. People in the north suburbs were not interested in commuter rail until LRT was opened up down Hiawatha Ave. It was rather political, although the commuter bus service up US 10 had been quite popular before Northstar opened. The length of the trains shows you how popular they are. The trains are racing up the BNSF St. Paul to Seattle mainline; the trains run along the old Great Northern mainline from Minneapolis to Willmar, through Northeast Mpls. before turning onto the ex-GN mainline between St. Cloud and St. Paul at the aptly-named "Minneapolis Jct." The paint scheme is similar to the LRT trains.
Love this video. Thank you for sharing. Just recently learned about the Northstar commuter train. Would love to take a ride on it, and it sure is beautiful country in MN, a state that I would love to visit, and I have friends there.
The Northstar Cab Cars are the only 2008-2013 built Bombardier cab cars to have been built with K5LAs. All other cab cars from that era were given custom horns by the systems that bought them.
I live in MN this is my favorite train I ride it all the time.
Same. I hope Covid-19 will be over soon so I can ride it again! :D
I wish we had trains like this in Kentucky. :(
Awesome video! The cab cars have some nice horns, but not so much the MP36 ones lol... Also I might visit this railroad in June!
Northstar kinda reminds me of SunRail
A bit i guess.
that makes sense, they both use MPI MPXpress locomotives and bombardier cars
Awesome passenger and freight meet! Terrific catches!
nice, the colour of their locomotive and coaches look good, nice video
and nice profile picture
Thank you!
CoasterFan2105 your welcome, :)
Nice video of nice looking trains. I like the inclusion of background scenery.
I live in Minnesota and I ride the North Star all the time when I go to Minnesota Twins baseball games
RUclips Videos I ride the light rail
I live in Minnesota also and I took 2 trains. First I took the Northstar to Target Field and Took the Light Rail to Mall of America and back. That was my first time riding those 2 trains. I am such a train fan. Now I am waiting till this covid-19 to be over so I could ride it again! :D
you should come back again because there is a new schedule!
Awesome Video Mike
2:35 was that sky looks crazy!!
It's looks like a tornado is about to form
Lots of storms were in the area!
Yeah, that sky is crazy!
That was a quiet thunderstorm.
Ry Flo aaaxssqaaaq
NCTD (San Diego) runs 1 engine for up to 5 cars and it climbs Sorrento Grade. I know they need another engine for 6 cars because they ran longer trains this year for Comic-Con
Probably has more to do with the HEP limit than hauling capabilities.
NICE T-Storm fanning.
You are the best
Love the new profile picture!
Thanks!
The only time I rode on the Northstar was on its inaugural run in January 2010
That horn sounds crazy
Great video
Thanks Travis!
Boy those colours sure screw up the autofocus, don't they? Thanks for the video.
Thanks for the comment!
North Star cab car 603 also uses a graham white e bell just like the go train
HEY, It's Been A
While Of Watching
That Video
sweet catch Mike
Northstar is my favorite along with. Metrolink Coaster and 2 others😊🚉
Nice video!
I like your videos mike
These Northstar trains are operated by BNSF crews!
1:03 is it Normal for 5 car trains to have two locomotives? some other commuter railroads can have one loco pull 5 cars!
1:19 too bad that container train was in the way!
1:32 finally, a crossing that uses the horn! that horn sounds odd!
Minneapolis also has light rail streetcars!
2:16 I don't know why they use the two locomotives! they have 6 locomotives (fromer Utah transit), 6 cab cars, and 12 normal coaches! Which means 6 three car trains can be run on the system at one time!
2:50 that one crossing bell sounds odd (or is it the train bell?)!
4:29 the cab car has a loco horn, and the loco has a cab car horn!
Thanks for the clarification, Parker!
Great video!
Thank you!
2:29 sounds like a steam train
No not to me
It sound high pitched like SOME steam whistles
2:36 nice lightning
Loved your vid. So I am just curious, how many bombardiers did the longest Northstar train you see have? I'm surprised they use 2 locos for 5 bombardiers cause I once seen a GO train with 14 bombardiers and one loco in the push mode! Isn't that something? On top of that, GO transit usally uses 1 loco anyway to pull and push 10-12 bombardiers. There sure is a lot of business on their line!
The usual reason they would doublehead is because if one engine breaks down, it won't take up the line and delay other trains.
The reason GO Transit trains are so big is different. It's because early on, they became victims of their own success with their Hawker Siddeley Single Level Coaches, and are trying as hard as possible to not let history repeat itself on that.
I’ve been seeing that they have two engines to accelerate and get to their next stop quicker
I don't think hauling capacity has anything to do with it. It's more likely that Northstar engines have a smaller Head End Power generator than GO Transit locomotives. The longer the train, the more power you need for things like AC, lights, phone charging, etc..
I remember like 7 years ago when I was 2 years old.
I'd love to see you make a video on the Trinity Railway Express in DFW
Cool! Haven't seen that before!
2:27 I live in elk river
The video is short but injoyebel nice job on the video
Thanks!
Enjoyable
I love those kind
What locomotives do these have, where I live GO transit has mpi's mp54ac but they are the most powerful locos MPI makes so I was just wondering which ones northstar uses for these short trains
The Northstar uses MP36PH-3C's (6 in the roster) and uses Bombardier BiLevel Coaches. I see these all the time and their cool to look at.
Excellent video. One question, why some trains used two engines?
Some trains have two logos because there short on cab cars.
If that was it, wouldn't they have put one on each end? All the ones in the video had two on the same end.
I am not exactly sure why they do that. It may be some sort of "protect power" that they keep running in case another train breaks down, so that there is always one at the ready. The only other possibility I see is testing following repairs. They do it pretty regularly, so I think the protect power explanation is probably more likely the case, but I am not 100% sure. Thanks for the comment!
Actually, someone in a comment above said it is done to keep the rush hour trains moving faster.
Keep in mind the northstar runs on bnsf tracks so you would want two units in case of a issue you don't wanna hold up freight traffic because you broke down.
Great video an anyone tell me the bell combo or horn model on the locomotives?
Not sure what it is. I've heard that it may be some sort of K5LLB, but have not had that confirmed.
You may indeed be correct. I'll have to do a little more digging and see if I can figure it out.
The cab cars are Raised Letter K5LAs, but they are definitely restricted, those would sound better at a higher PSI... the MP36s, on the other hand, use K3LAs, but they just sound odd for some reason.
Goddam... Northstar trains are MUCH bigger than WES Commuter Rail in Beaverton
My grandparents live near this area.
Awesome!
TheBrantfordRailfan ch have
They need to add sc44s to their route
North Star cab car 607 uses a graham white e bell just like the cab cars on the go train
1:27 is my favorite part
man, no variety in those trains. nice video!
Yeah, nothing like Metra! Thanks!
CoasterFan2105 the line's only been around for 8 years so as a result it doesn't have much in the way of rolling stock
So cool
I live in Minnesota and I see a lot
Nice video.
i love trans you did a great time felming
at 2:32 sounds like a HSP Horn lol
what does northstar 505 horn sound
Красивые поезда.
Northstar Reminds me of MBTA
We call it in rails unlimited northsun yes correct✅
2:57 i wish i was there
I know that station, it's in Coon Rapids. So freaking awsome
Sabrina Doré it’s beautiful plus I remember I was on that exact train and it was fun as heck
why 2 engine pulling/pushing 5 coaches??
Or mabey The Minnesota Twins Game
yeah, or that
Usually they put 2 engines on when they are not running any other trains, then if one of the engines breaks down, they don't have to get another train out on the line.
0:59 Needs 2 locomotives for 5 cars? I would feel like that would only need 1 locomotive
Nice
What kind a horn does the cab car have
What kind of horn haves the Northstar MP36PH?
i take this train
alot
Its: A lot
Think how much money they could've saved by running the northstar out to eden prairie as another line instead of building an entirely new light rail line they could've utilized the northstar more then just going out to big lake and back.
I’m from MN but never been on the North Star. 😂
Same, But I'm am riding it on July 6 2019 Mn twins game
I ride the light rail
why do they need 2 locomotives to pull a 5 car consist, when GO transit can easily pull a 13 car consist with just one loco?
Trains in Toronto: They just do it so if another MP36 Broke down, 504 For Example. And 505 Will Take It’s Place.
They do it so they can get more speed. Because if they have 2 locos pushing or pulling and both are running at full speed the train can get to it's destination a lot quicker. But otherwise they only have 3 cars with 1 loco because 1 loco can push or pull 3 cars just as easily as 2 can push or pull 5
I believe GO’s variant is stronger I’m unsure though
@@Cal90208 yep go transit uses mp54ac’s which has 5400 horsepower! While mp36ph-3c’s have 3600.
Those commuter trains seem a little short, only 3 cars.
0:37 What is this big vs medium vs small
I'm surprised they need two of those locomotives for five coaches!
It's not that they need 2 locomotives to pull the train, but to keep the acceleration high on the peak time schedule. Off peak trains have 3 cars and 1 locomotive so its not a problem then.
The faster you can get to top speed, the longer you can run at top speed. The longer you can be at top speed, the further you can go in a set period of time.
Thanks for clearing that up, Zack! I haven't seen too many commuter agencies run 2 locomotives on trains that short, so it was definitely neat to see.
MKT Transport Video damn GO transit has 10-12 carriage trains and one loco XD
Different commuter systems work differently depending on distance from the city (commuter hub) or amount of commuters that actually travel on the line.
Given this is Minnesota, my guess is there is not as much commuter traffic as there would be on the NEC or the California Coast. And Zack Bone up there is right. An MPI Xpress unit could easily handle five cars alone, but with 3,600 HP for commuter trains, it would most likely take two of them to keep a five car train running at normal peak-hour schedule.
On top of that, it's kinda unfair seeing that the GO Transit Xpress units were designed to have 5,400 HP instead, so they can likely get up to track speed a lot quicker than the 3,600 HP units in use here in the US. I think the highest horsepower commuter diesel unit we have are the HSP-46 units in Boston.
what hornes are these? i think the cab car is a raised letter k5la
It is. And it's the only 2008-2013 era cab car to use K5LAs. All other operators that use 2008-2013 era cab cars all got custom horns that are different from the standard K5LA these cab cars are usually built with.
Is there Amtrak trains in Minnesota?
Yes!
Where is the yard at 1:56
Cool
0:38 the lights are both red lol
+Parker_Carlson there isnt a sunrail in minnesota
1:48 BNSF local
I wonder how it looks from the inside.
It's pretty cool. I live near one of the stations and I ride it sometimes.
It reminds of go train
American Diesel locomotives are so unrefined.
Hater
2:38
what crossing is that?
When were these videos taken
July 2015
Thank you. Appreciate it
why was there a T on the first one
That is the Minneapolis "Metro Transit" logo
I thought there was amtrak
2:30 NTA NORTHSTAR TRANISIT AUTHORY K5LA HORN SHOW
What why is a bnsf train is this video
It's bnsf tracks that the northstar runs on.