The news that the Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern is in the process of acquiring secondhand GE locomotives as replacements for a portion of their aging fleet of SD40-2s has created even more interest in this operation amongst railfans. The tri-weekly train that runs on CPKC trackage rights from the interchange with UP in Mankato to RCPE's own tracks at Tracy and on west to Aurora, South Dakota is a fairly sure bet for seeing something moving at a predictable time in daylight. Last Saturday's train brought out as many photographers as I've ever seen along the line, with over a dozen of us chasing the train west in the afternoon. Having seen trains along here many times and gotten pictures at most of the well-traveled locations already, I decided to leave the crowd behind and head for this hillside at Lake Benton. I've never seen a picture from up here, which isn't too surprising since it takes a bit of a hike through a public nature preserve and up a fairly steep slope to get to the top of the hill. That meant skipping some other photo opportunities and ending my chase afterward. I left with a smile on my face, though, knowing I'd got a shot that, to my knowledge, no one else has. The view was even better than I'd expected, with Lake Benton visible in the background and the tracks curving into the valley amongst the hills of the Buffalo Ridge. Hopefully I'll have another chance or two to see these locomotives at work before they're gone, but if not, seeing and hearing them here was as perfect of a farewell as I could have.
