A southbound freight eases down the nearly 2.0% grade of Steelton Hill in far western Duluth. On the left is the new grade that will accommodate double track on the hill, with the original curving... (more)

The Roger Blough is at Dock 2 taking on a cargo of pellets from the stockpile. Dock No. 6 at the bottom was taken out of service in 1963 on "Black Friday" when the Missabe shut down Two... (more)

It's all business at the CN docks at Two Harbors. The Roger Blough is loading pellets off the stockpile at Dock 2 while another train is being dumped through the shed on the lower left and those ... (more)

A long view of the CN yard at Proctor, MN. Engine facility is on the middle left and the car repair shop is middle right. What was once strictly an ore staging yard for the mines of northern Mi... (more)

CN Two Harbors yard is the final destination in Minnesota for some of the taconite pellets made at the Iron Range's taconite plants. Most of what is stored here are from the Minorca mine and Min... (more)

It's always busy when the largest taconite mine in the U.S. is running at capacity. At this facility, iron-bearing rock called taconite is mined and processed into iron ore pellets. Annual product... (more)

A pair of SD60F Cowls and crew position limestone cars for dumping at the Minorca mine just north of Virginia, MN. The train pulls into the plant site on a loop and the crew then cuts the train i... (more)

The relatively new paint on 5436 contrasts with the chipped and blistering paint on the ore carrier Roger Blough, which is also owned by CN but operated by a U.S. firm.

This is where some of the taconite pellets made on Minnesota's Iron Range actually leave Minnesota. The Indiana Harbor takes on a load of taconite pellets at the CN ore dock at Two Harbors on a ni... (more)

The ore carrier Presque Isle is moored between the docks in Two Harbors as an SD40-3 shoves empty cars into the outgoing yard on a cold and blustery spring day. The vessel is waiting for a Coast G... (more)

A trio of light units roll past the first ship of the season, the Cason J. Callaway (also owned by CN). The piles of ore are high and ice will likely hamper the start of this shipping season.

A Roadswitch job spots ore cars on the top of Dock 6 while the large 1000-footer Edgar B. Speer is in position to load (the ship is also owned by CN through its purchase of Great Lakes Transportat... (more)

A crew member fights a losing battle to clear a switch during the height of a blizzard that deposited two feet of snow. A large MOW loader with a plow attachment helps to clear access to the switc... (more)

A white Thanksgiving greets this northbound freight as it rolls through the Midway River valley near Proctor on the former DM&IR.

Northbound just out of Proctor for points north.