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1950 - 1979 Menu
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- Chicago & Northwestern ore
operations extend from Iron River and Crystal Falls on the west end
of the Menominee Range to Escanaba via the Ore Line subdivision.
This line bypasses downtown Iron Mountain by routing north of Lake
Antoine and Fumee Lake and east through Tesch and into Escanaba's
No. 6 ore yard, a holding yard for ore shipments to the dock.
By the 1960's, the C&NW ore dock is the only such dock on Lake
Michigan, shipping C&NW and Milwaukee Road ore through a pooling
arrangement, as well as ore from the Marquette Range. [LSIOR]
- Until 1966, the C&NW hauled
Gogebic ore from the Ironwood area to Escanaba, a distance of 183
miles. At the time, this was the longest haul of ore from mine
to dock in the Lake Superior region. [LSIOR]
- SNAPSHOT: C&NW ore
operations between Ishpeming an Escanaba with operations considered
"small" compared with C&NW's Menominee ore operation. One ore
train per day is operated between the two towns. The train is
usually powered by four, 1,600 h.p. FM road switchers and has
between 80 and 125 cars. LS&I provides all service to the
mines, and makes up the Escanaba trains for C&NW in the yard at
Ishpeming. Other trains on the Escanaba to Ishpeming line
include passenger trains 209 and 214 (the Peninsula 040) and daily
except Sunday freights 39 and 34. Extra freights are operated
for timber and other needs. After the arrival of the C&NW ore
train in Escanaba, the cars are moved to the Repubic area by the
LS&I. Eastbound loaded ore trains leaving Ishpeming struggle
to get their loaded 100 car train up the grade east of the Ishpeming
depot. [LSIOR]
- SNAPSHOT: The Soo Line
serves two mines on the Marquette Iron Range, the TracyMine at
Negaunee and the Champion Mine in Champion. Champion ore is a
hematite and is blue-gray in color and is shipped in lump form or
crushed. It is usually not mixed with other ores. Soo
Line (former DSS&A) ore trains serve this mine directly from
Marquette. Mine jobs from Tracy Mine bring ore to Hogan Ore
Yard for the ore extra trains to Marquette. Road ore trains
between Hogan Ore Yard and Marquette are "turn" trains which turn at
Marquette. Trains from Champion to Marquette are individual,
with a different crew called at Marquette to return the train to
Champion. Trains typically handle 60 cars, and are powered by
2 EMD GP-9's or 2 Baldwin 1,600 C+C road switchers. Trains are
limited to 25 MPH loaded, and 30 MPH empty. During runs to
Marquette, all retainers are set in the high pressure positio
because ofthe 2% to 2.67% descending grades west of the Marquette
ore dock. [LSIOR]
- SNAPSHOT: There are four
yards in the Lake Superior & Ishpeming's Eagle Mills-Republic Mine
district. Eagle Mills Yard is used for the distribution of
empties to the mines and for road train assembly. Harris Yard
at Negaunee is used for overflow for empty ore cards if Eagle Mills
Yard cannot handle them. Euclid Yard at Ishpeming is used for
interchanging ore with the C&NW Railway. Humboldt Yard is used
for handling the switching of ore cars at the Humboldt and Republic
Mines. [LSIOR]
- The LS&I operates an all-rail
movement of ore and pellets from Eagle Mills to either Eben Jct. (Soo
Line connection) or Little Lake (C&NW connection) during the closing
of the shipping season. These cars are taken to Chicago via
the Soo Line or C&NW. [LSIOR]
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