Ottertail Power Co.,

Ottertail Power Co., Jamestown, ND.   This was at the end of the downtown spur.  OTP was one of the MICO's largest customers, receiving several cars of lignite coal each day.  Jamestown proper was located several miles off the mainline, about midway between Wimbledon and Edgely ND, but all operations were based here.

The crossing is 3rd Ave SE.

4th Ave SE  Jamestown,

 4th Ave SE  Jamestown, ND.

MICO freighthouse and dock is on the left.  CH Carpenter Lumber in background and COOP on right.

Jamestown Farmers Union Oil

 Jamestown Farmers Union Oil CO-OP

5th Ave SE Jamestown, ND

The CO-OP was a MICO customer receiving feed, fertilizer, coal and oil, and shipping grain outbound.

South End of the MICO's

 South End of the MICO's shop.  The prototype was a 4 stall brick affair, that was in somewhat poor condition at this point in 1970.   On the layout, we only have one operational stall, with the appearance of 3.  The far stall was served by a stub switch.  My building is a Walthers stand-in until we can get something scratchbuilt.

The track behind the shop is the transfer track to the NP, now BN.  This track was located a bit further south on the prototype.  The MICO had 2 interchanges with the NP, one with the SOO, and one with the MILW.  By 1970, the MICO was down to this interchange with the Northern Pacific.

That is the Jamestown Terminal Elevator on the right.  It was a Peavey operation at this time and was served by both the MICO and the NP.  It still stands today as a Gavilon elevator.  

Here is another look at the

 Here is another look at the Peavey elevator.  On the prototype it was served from the other direction behind the roundhouse.  3rd St SE on the right.  It looks like from my research that the NP hauled most of the grain out of here.   I've not seen any cars outbound from Peavey on the MICO switch lists that are available.  MICO did lease 25 modern covered hoppers in the mid-60s for grain service, but were only on the property for a short time.

Going under I-94.South of

 Going under I-94.

South of the Jamestown yard area, the line served Justin Hide & Fur (a scrapyard) and Nodak Block (an aggregate and cement block company.)   Hide and Fur is behind the train, and Nodak was relocated near the shop on my layout due to space.  This portion of the MICO is still being operated by the BNSF south to the State Hospital.  the MICO crossed 17th St SE on a timber trestle before going under I-94, but I needed to hide the hole in the wall, so 17th St will be located in "phase 4".

NODAK Block

 NODAK Block

I relocated Nodak Block here behind the shop.  There was a redi-mix plant close by anyway, so its not a stretch.  Still researching.

MICO switch list show deliveries of sand and shale in open hoppers.  I added the cement silo, it seems reasonable.  There was a pole yard located on this siding, which will be located at the end of the spur.

MICO Freighthouse and

 MICO Freighthouse and Depot

The MICO had substantial brick freight and passenger stations between 3rd and 4th Ave in Jamestown.  The general offices, dispatcher and agent were located here.  These are stand-ins for now.  The passenger station may have already been demolished by this time, I don't have a date on that yet.

I like it!

You've done a great job capturing the look and feel of a prairie grassland branchline.  I went back and read your D&M thread and especially liked what you did for your town of Peavey, ND.

I've been wanting to do a module representing a typical ND/SD town, so I've been doing a bunch of map-surfing recently to get some ideas.  Jamestown is one area I spent time researching so I recognize each of your scenes above, even if I need to do some imagineering to visualize what's no longer there.

I look forward to seeing more!

Craig

MICO

The MICO was a 68 mile shortline, running from Edgely ND connections with MILW and NP, to a SOO connection at Wimbeldon, ND.  Jamestown was located off a branch from Jamestown Junction, about midway between the two ends.  The MICO was purchased jointly by the NP and the SOO in 1966.  In 1969, flooding washed out some bridges and roadway.   The MiCO ran out of Jamestown, and rented locos from the SOO and the MILW to serve the severed portions until it became uneconomical.   The SOO ran the line out of Wimbledon for a while, and the BNSF still serves customers in Jamestown and the State Hospital on MICO trackage.   By 1970, the MICO was officially abandoned.   The MICO rostered 2 dark green RS-1s, which were supplanted by leased NP switchers out of Jamestown.

So, in my basement, it is 1970 and the MICO is still going strong on roughly 8 miles of track between Jamestown and  the elevator at Kloze.  The layout was designed based on Sanborn maps, some aerial photos of Jamestown, and Google Earth.  Switch lists are available on the MICOs Historical Society page, those were very helpful in establishing traffic patterns.  

Thanks Craig

Thanks Craig!

I'll put more photos up as I get more done.

I'm a fan of the BNML as well!

Nuts and Bolts

I guess should say a few words about the layout.  It is HO scale, point to point.  The mainline and turnouts are Micro Engineering code 70, sidings are handlaid code 70.  Control is good-old DC.  Buildings are a mix of kit and scratch. The lone unit, RS-1 402 is an Atlas product, and the caboose is a stand-in for now. (they did a lot of shoving, caboose 710 had a headlight mounted on the roof.)   Rolling stock is a mix of everything, upgraded with kadees and metal wheelsets, and some weathering.   Scenery is easy, not a lot of trees around here......just Prairie grass.   There are 4 modules at the moment, each is 8 feet long, with the width varying to accommodate the aisle.   The layout leaves the room through a hole in the wall, and returns into the train room through another hole on the other side of the entry door.   The U-shaped bridge is removeable for access in and out of the room.  I am almost built to the State Hospital, which got coal delivered to the powerhouse.  BNSF still delivers here to my knowledge.

Trains article

Do you have the old Trains magazine article about the MC?  I forget the issue, but it was around 1970.

Enjoying your progress.  Nice to see another Dakota modeler.  My abuilding layout is based on Sioux Falls.

Scott Chatfield

Article

Thanks Scott.   Yes, I do have that article.   All good info. Sioux Falls is a great location to model.   There are great aerial photos of Sioux Falls circa 1970s on the MILW Historic Aerial site if you haven't seen them.  What road and era are you modeling?

402

402 at 4th Ave Ave SE

 Here's a prototype shot of all 3 diesels at the roundhouse.  Their first diesel was that WEMCO centercab, the RS-1s followed.

The Falls

I'm modeling the industrial areas north and south of downtown Sioux Falls in the late '80s and early '90s.  I don't have enough room right now to model downtown even after most of the facilities were torn up.  I might build an addition with the old GN depot and engine house in the future.  

The operating company is my proto-freelanced Sioux River RR, which in theory took over the old Milwaukee Road track in SoDak in 1980.  I can also run things as BN, and I've built the Falls' resident butthead, BN 211.

I still have trouble believing they fit terminals for _five_ railroads in downtown Sioux Falls.  C&NW, GN, IC, MILW, and RI all went there.  Track everywhere.

Scott Chatfield

Sioux Falls

Scott,

Sounds like a great layout.  Hopefully we can see some pix sometime.

Here is a link to the MILW aerials on Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/milwaukeeroadproject/15878863412/in/album-72157647132930763/

This is near downtown Sioux Falls.  You can can scroll through the pages, there are quite a few of the area.

Chris

More pictures

402 at the shop. The prototype "roundhouse" had "Midland Continental Railroad" prominently displayed on 3 sides of the structure.

Yep, the MICO  handled TOFC.  It received trailers for Tempo, a department store chain.  Not sure what was handled in the trailers, but there was an end-load ramp on a spur across from the shop.

17th St SE, Jamestown.  This bridge is still in service today.  It is a little shorter than the prototype, but I had to compress it.  Here is the real one:

More pictures

402 headed south on the James River bridge with 3 MTs for the elevator at Kloze.

Another view.   I need to get a backdrop up quick.   This is the 4th module.  It is a removeable bridge across the closet door.

Justin Hide and Fur Co.   The MICO switch lists did show a carload of hides shipped from here.  There is still a scrapyard here served by the BNSF.

MICO modeling

Thank you for posting your MICO modeling progress.  Your previous D&M layout was enjoyable to follow on this site, hope to see more information such a the caboose with a headlight.

Caboose

Fishnmack,

Here's the 710 behind the loco.  You can see the light below the roofwalk.   There was a light on each end.   I have a future project.  This caboose still exists, it can be seen at the Museum in Wimbledon, ND.

MICO Photo

All sorts of interesting details in your B&W photo of the caboose and RS1.  I like the stains near the fuel fill cap and "clean" marks on the short hood.  Did the MICO have silver painted trucks or is that just an even coat of light colored dust from using the sanders often?  I remember reading the TRAINS magazine feature on the MICO as a child and now can see the attraction this road has for modeling.  Looking forward to more of your MICO postings. 

Nice to see another Dakota

Nice to see another Dakota modeler here, and very nice work on the modules posted. Like Scott, I model the Sioux Falls area also - BNSF's Madison Branch which runs NW out of Sioux Falls to Madison.

Baxter Barnes

5th Ave SE

This is 5th Ave SE.   C.H. Carpenter Lumber in the background.   The real facility spanned a few city blocks along the railroad.  From my map research, it looks like the third track was removed by this point in time.  The CO-OP had a coal shed across the street from the elevator.  The CO-OP siding extended through town to the back side of the freighthouse dock.

Thanks Baxter.  Sioux Falls looks like a great location to model.

Fishnmack, the Alco trucks were black, covered in road grime in that photo.  The units were a dark green, almost black color.  This is probably the best color photo of the RS-1s.  You can see the road grime worn off the bottom of the box under the unit, showing the black paint.  This is one of my favorite MICO pictures.

This is likely in Jamestown, near the NP transfer.  Those NP hoppers are probably going to or coming from Ottertail Power or the State Hospital.