The first significant snow event of the season is well underway here on Minnesota's Iron Range. U.S. Steel's Minntac plant is still churning out the taconite pellets and the CN crews are still hau... (more)
After yesterdays heavy snows across the area have subsided, United Taconite was able to restart their mining operations and the CN served mine was able to load a train of 119 cars with taconite ro... (more)
The first significant snow event of the season is well underway here on Minnesota's Iron Range. One of the few reasons the mine shuts down is due to poor weather and there is indeed some weather ... (more)
DMIR 403 and crew wait for the light to depart Largo with 120 loads of taconite rock for the 10 mile trip to the Fairlane processing plant. Cliffs Natural Resources has idled this plant now affec... (more)
The snow has subsided but now the cold wind is blowing in from Canada and the temperature is dropping quickly giving the photographing of a U-730 with a relatively clean, matched pair of anniversa... (more)
As the snow is tapering off, a pair of Dash 8's kick up a little of that freshly fallen white stuff while they head back to the mine to reload.
T-Birds have always been relatively easy to catch with them making a 10 mile run about every two hours. Running back and forth mine to plant, plant to mine, day and night, night and day. Here are ... (more)
The fog is thick on this unseasonably warm mid-December afternoon and CN 2111 cuts through it like it was butter while heading north with empties for United Taconites Thunderbird Mine crusher to l... (more)
Battle of Light. The signals at Noimi Jct. battle to protect the CN Minntac Sub from an oncoming train. The signals won and the train headed up the CN Missabe Sub.
After loading the train, the crew sits back and enjoys the last rays of sun while they wait for the work block on the Missabe Sub to expire.
A dirty pair of Dash 8's split the searchlights at Wolf as they head south on the Missabe Sub. for the United Taconite plant with rock.
A pair of Dash 8 CN Anniversary units provide a little color to an otherwise gloomy northern Minnesota November afternoon.
Happy Halloween! BLE 903 departs United Taconite with empty ore cars on a perfect sunny and warm afternoon.
Ah, the long shadows of fall. Those very shadows crawl towards the tracks as a T-Bird crawls towards the United Taconite plant with rock.
A nice pair of C40-8's assigned to T-Bird service roll southbound on a nice fall afternoon.