VIDEO: The 261 departs Willmar

Milwaukee Road 261 ascends the Atwater grade observed by rail fans from the 49th Street N.E. bridge, west of Kandiyohi. The restored 71-year-old ALCO locomotive arrived in Willmar from Northeast Minneapolis at 11:45 a.m. with 400 passengers. After a two-hour stay and a visit to the BNSF turntable, the passenger train headed back east on the historic Great Northern line that had reached Kandiyohi County in 1869. Despite no local publicity released by the Friends of the 261, hundreds turned to gaze and take photos including those in a large caravan of cars that shaded the westbound 261. (RAND MIDDLETON | TRIBUNE)