That's the old Minneapolis & St. Louis, on its line that went from Minneapolis, down through Albert Lea, and - ultimately - to Peoria, Illinois.
In my limited experience, the best railfanning is over in St. Paul between the bluffs and the river. BNSF and CN (former CB&Q and Milwaukee Road, respectively) run quite a few trains through there. There is a good bridge without much road traffic, over the BNSF Northtown Yard, that you can use for photography. Over where the 261 group has its equipment, there is a wye. Trains headed toward Willmar go west through Wayzata and trains for the Northwest (most of the traffic) go north.
