1993 Upper Peninsula Travels
In the summer of 1993 the DSS&S Division of the Soo Line Historical and Technical Society (SLHTS) held their annual meeting in Ironwood. This gave us a chance to poke around the railroad scene in the Western UP of Michigan.
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Here is the small WC yard at the White Pine Mine, this mine being the sole reason for the existence of the ex-DSS&A line from Marengo Junction to White Pine. |
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Looking inside the mine. Inside the building is the mine switcher. |
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Here we have the Bergland depot still standing in 1993. Bergland was on the main DSS&A route from Marquette to Duluth. |
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Thomaston used to be a division point and boasted a roundhouse but now there is just a single passing track. There is a small amount of freight traffic from here. This is a train from the mine heading West pulled by a leased Missabe unit. |
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Looking down from the US-2 bridge near Saxon. The long gone CN&W line to Ashland crossed the DSS&A line almost right under this bridge. |
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Coming off the branch to White Pine onto the "main line" from Ashland at Marengo Junction. This has been as far West as DSS&A went since the 1930's, trackage rights through Ashland to Superior being utilized. |
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Heading through Marengo on the way to Mellen where the train normally ties up. |
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The ex-CN&W depot in Ironwood, now a museum. |
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Inside the ex-CN&W depot in Ironwood we see the train schedule from better days. |
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Here we have an ex-LS&I GE 2301 working a special charter on the Wisconsin and Michigan, which operated from Bessemer to Mellen. This is in Ironwood, about to pick up all the DSS&S Division group. |
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Heading East out of Ironwood towards Bessemer, where the 2301 ran around the train after burning out a traction motor. |
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Back in Ironwood, we added two more ex-LS&I 2000 HPGE units and then set off for Mellen. |
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Ex-LS&I Alco 1604 was sitting on a W&M spur. |
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The photo run-by west of Ironwood. |
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Getting back on the train after the run-by. |
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At Mellen we found these two WC locomotives at rest. |
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Also at Mellen some WC snow fighting equipment. |
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Switching the W&M locomotives to the front of the charter took some doing but was eventually accomplished. There was a wye at Mellen to help this. |
Last Edited 28 January, 2018
