An empty limestone train heads back to Proctor after delivering to Minorca on a dull · drab · uninteresting · flat · dry · banal · bland · insipid · colorless · lifeless · sterile · tedious · wear... (more)

Breaking the silence of a still Minnesota landscape, DMIR 408 leads a four pack EMD consist and 145 ore cars at the control point Nugget on the CN Iron Range sub as they continue the trek to Two H... (more)

Always nice to get Missabe era signals and engines together. On duty at 0100 in Two Harbors and arriving at U.S. Steel Minntac at 0500, they began loading at 0530 and finished the last car at 072... (more)

20,000 tons of ore pellets descend the 3% grade into Two Harbors with four veteran EMD work horses on the point.

Running through a black and white tundra, the nose of DMIR 408 provides the color as they run track speed across the frozen landscape.

The morning fog that was so vision restricting a few hours ago has mostly burned off now as the U-791 from U.S. Steel Minntac to Two Harbors cruises track speed passing some CN M.O.W. people inclu... (more)

A heavy overnight fog is still present and the sun has just cracked the horizon to start a new day as DMIR 408 comes down from the U.S. Steel Minntac plant with 96 cars of steaming taconite pellet... (more)

Taconite loads

After meeting an empty train headed for Minntac from Two Harbors, the engineer throttles up DMIR 408 and they begin to pull 144 loaded ore cars from Minntac through Allen Jct. on the journey back ... (more)

4 tunnel motors are in charge of this empty ore train bound for loading at Minorca Mine on the north side of Virginia. Here the train is between Mt. Iron Jct. and DWP Jct., and only about a mile f... (more)

Seeing 4 tunnel motors in use on a Class 1 in 2015 is something to see. Here 4 tunnels take the connection off the Rainy to the Missabe at Shelton Jct. This old school power stay busy keeping CN's... (more)

Seeing 4 tunnel motors in use on a Class 1 in 2015 is something to see. Here 4 tunnels pound 145 loads out of Ramshaw with ore out of the Minorca Mine North of Virginia. This old school power stay... (more)

Rails to the bay, literally. In the distant past this area of Agate Bay was used by commercial fisherman who launched their large boats using dollies mounted on track, using scrap rail likely laid... (more)

Empty pellet loader for MinnTac is waiting for an empty limestone to arrive before it blast off.

A pair of light power sets slowly roll towards the engine facility as the sun breaks through.