A pair of fresh off the factory floor GEs being tested by Northshore Mining for a few months pull the taconite rock from the mine at Babbitt to the plant at Silver Bay. Definitely something diffe... (more)

Just after sunrise a pair of showroom-fresh GEs pierce shadows as they head for Silver Bay with 156 cars of taconite iron ore. EMD-exclusive NSM has a four-month lease on three of these. EMD SD70A... (more)

Just after sunrise a pair of showroom-fresh GEs lead 156 ore loads through the mosquito breeding grounds of Northeastern Minnesota. EMD-exclusive NSM has a four-month lease on three of these.

Before NSM received three new GE ES44ACs to test this week there was precedent for having tested GEs in the past. Here three borrowed (from sister railroad LTV Steel Mining Company, which had leas... (more)

First run of leased GEs that will test on EMD-exclusive NSM for four months. The third GE, 1204, will be east facing (it was left in Babbitt while these two were wyed). Rare SD28 1234 is trailing.... (more)

Two of three CREX GEs that NSM is leasing head west on their first trip while SD28-3 1234 tags along for the ride. CREX 1204 stayed at Babbitt and will be the east facing unit in this trio.

The 11am loads roll past the Toimi ponds with a raw ore train for Silver Bay.

After just cresting the hill in the background the 11am loads start down hill with a raw ore train for Silver Bay. Two and a half weeks after I took this photo Cleveland Cliffs would announce the ... (more)

After a major brushing project by the railroad, the entire NSM 1100 loads train is completely visible as they roll towards Silver Bay. The Superior National Forest along with most of the trees o... (more)

On a beautiful Autumn day, North Shore Mining 652 leads its' ore train to the plant at Silver Bay.

What a welcome sight! A raw ore train on the NSM with a blue NSM on the nose of the leader.

Taconite rock rolls the 47 miles from Babbitt to Silver Bay for processing, passing through the scenic Superior National Forest along the way.

Loads of taconite rock head down from the Babbitt mine to the plant in Silver Bay located some 47 miles away on the shore of Lake Superior. It's about a two hour trip one way hauling the approx. ... (more)

A delivering 17,000 tons of taconite rock for processing, the crew picked up what empties the plant had ready for them and took off back towards the mine to reload. They are about at the halfway p... (more)

Consecutively numbered ex-Rock Island units now leased to North Shore Mining lead taconite rock loads from the Babbitt mine to the Silver Bay plant along the 47 mile NSM mainline which cuts throug... (more)