Asking for and receiving the necessary lights to leave the plant's yard and head back to the mine's course crusher to reload taconite rock before returning and doing it all over again.

Today the snow is falling, the wind is blowing and it's 22 degrees which is a far cry from 48 hours ago when it was sunny and 72. A T-Bird rumbles and rattles the old steel bridge spanning the sw... (more)

A week ago it was 10 degrees and snowing, today it was 70 degrees and sunny. The snowmelt was fast this spring across NE Minnesota and took less than a week so the rivers are high and moving fast... (more)

BLE 903 leads train U713 south from Mountain Iron to Proctor, passing through Meadowlands Township, MN at Swenson Road.

Train U717 from Fairlane with loads for Duluth, approaching Norway Ridge Road in Forbes, MN.

Fresh pellet steam wisps off of the loaded taconite cars as Canadian National's U717 snakes its way out of the departure tracks at the Fairlane Taconite Plant in Forbes, Minnesota. A trio of class... (more)

After doubling up their train back at Keenan yard, CN 2925 leads an all-rail taconite train down the main line beginning the trip for points much farther south.

Hitting the throttle as they hit the single-track section of the Missabe sub heading south with taconite pellets for the yard at Proctor. In the background on the double track portion comes a bla... (more)

A northbound CN freight rumbles and bumbles along up the CN Missabe sub passing through the control points of S. and N. Fairlane while heading to Canada as the northern lights dance in the sky abo... (more)

A T-Bird has pulled up and called the CN RTC desk looking for lights to leave the plant and head back to the mine to reload. Seems to be lights all around.

Before departing back to the mine to reload, DMIR 400 has to wait for a pellet loader out of Proctor to clear first.

Empty limestone train U714 catches a suckerhole of sunshine as it cruises through the North Fairlane control point in Forbes, Minnesota after meeting a northbound intermodal train. A GE C40-8M lea... (more)

The elements all lined up for a spectacular show of steam on the CN U717 loaded taconite pellet train as it departed Fairlane Pellet Plant on the way to Proctor. The right negative degree tempera... (more)

A sunny afternoon trip back to Proctor with almost empty side dumps after delivering limestone to U.S. Steel Minntac.

That low winter light looks good plastered on the side of this all EMD power set and ore cars complete with a little bit of steam rising as the cold air mingles with the fresh taconite pellets.