A pair of Canadian National SD40-2Q's work the unloader at Two Harbors, Minnesota, pulling a cut of loaded ore cars through the shed. The unloaded taconite ore pellets are fed to a conveyor belt w... (more)

A hump job shoves east back to Kirk Yard with CN 6008, EJE 673 and EJE 674 making for a nice EMD lash-up.

With a bitter cold end to 2017, a empty taconite train passes through Gilbert, MN as it head toward Mintac for another fresh load of pellets.

A quartet of rebuilt SD40 variants power an empty ore train north near the junction at Wolf,MN on the way to Minntac for loading.

A Friendly Wave
Conrail SECN and CNSE were known for interesting locomotive consists on their runs between Selkirk Yard and the CN interchange on the Montreal Secondary. This day's SE... (more)

Minntac loads wind around the corner just minutes out of Waldo and a steep descent to the docks at Two Harbors.

I will admit I was not excited when I heard the leader, but upon doing some more research, I am perfectly ok with it. Originally a GMD SD40,only 28 of these units were rebuilt by the CN in the 90'... (more)

A northbound U788 from Two Harbors, MN to U.S. Steel's Minntac plant at Mountain Iron rolls along the CN Iron Range Sub near Gilbert on a nice mid-summer afternoon.

ex CN 5002 (SD40). I looked at about four sources for what the locomotive is now called (after rebuilding) and got four different answers. They were SD40-2Q, SD40u, SD40-2QRM, and SD40-3.

Minntac loads on their way for Two Harbors.

Taconite pellets steam towards Two Harbors behind CN 6018, IC 6261 and DM&IR 403 as a sucker hole of sun breaks through and illuminates the train.

After bringing the loads down the hill from Proctor, the crew prepares to shove them out on dock 6 for unloading. They will be added to the huge pile on the ground already there from winter stockp... (more)

A 135 car train behind a trio of 6000 series CN engines (6017, 6024, and 6021) roll downhill from the west load out pocket at U.S. Steel Minntac. It was a great 60 degree day when I took this shot... (more)

A matched set of CN SD40s leads empty DM&IR ore cars up Proctor Hill on a surprisingly snow-free February day. The former DM&IR is home to numerous veteran standard cab EMDs.

It's minus 26 degrees below zero and the wind is coming out of the northwest giving a windchill reading of minus 40 degrees below zero so the National Weather Service issued an extreme weather ale... (more)