The Rocking Rapids
Less than 15 minutes behind the Keetac empties came the third train in the westbound fleet. While I did know it was the 'Rapids Turn' I didn't know what it had for power so to say I was ecstatic when I saw this come into the frame is an understatement! BNSF train L-TWI620 is wheeling around the curve at MP40 on BNSF's (ex Great Northern) Lakes Sub led by BNSF 1832 and 1851, the former still dressed in its Burlington Northern Cascade Green paint 29 years after the merger. The pair of vintage EMD SD40-2s were built in Apr. 1974 and Nov. 1973 as BN 6384 and 6285 respectively and are on their home rails.
Dominating the background is SAPPI North America's massive paper mill. It traces its history back to 1898 when the Northwest Paper Company opened the first mill here on the banks of the St. Louis River. In 1964 Potlatch Corporation acquired the mill and then in 2002 it became the property of SAPPI. Employing over 700 people, the mill produces 1100 tons of paper every day and is served by its own private common carrier railroad, the Cloquet Terminal which historically was known as the Duluth and Northeastern Railroad.
From SAPPI's own page:
Our integrated pulp and paper mill in Cloquet, Minnesota, is the most modern pulp mill operating in the US. By utilizing Continuous Batch Cooking, we are able to achieve extended delignification while maintaining high yield and strength properties. Also in 2013, we further modernized the pulp mill by adding two additional batch digesters as well as an acid pre-hydrolysis stage and an ozone bleaching stage. These changes, along with modifications to our wood yard and pulp dryer, enable the mill to make either dissolving pulp for the textile market or bleached kraft pulp used for papermaking.
Cloquet, Minnesota
Thursday September 12, 2024
The Rocking Rapids
Less than 15 minutes behind the Keetac empties came the third train in the westbound fleet. While I did know it was the 'Rapids Turn' I didn't know what it had for power so to say I was ecstatic when I saw this come into the frame is an understatement! BNSF train L-TWI620 is wheeling around the curve at MP40 on BNSF's (ex Great Northern) Lakes Sub led by BNSF 1832 and 1851, the former still dressed in its Burlington Northern Cascade Green paint 29 years after the merger. The pair of vintage EMD SD40-2s were built in Apr. 1974 and Nov. 1973 as BN 6384 and 6285 respectively and are on their home rails.
Dominating the background is SAPPI North America's massive paper mill. It traces its history back to 1898 when the Northwest Paper Company opened the first mill here on the banks of the St. Louis River. In 1964 Potlatch Corporation acquired the mill and then in 2002 it became the property of SAPPI. Employing over 700 people, the mill produces 1100 tons of paper every day and is served by its own private common carrier railroad, the Cloquet Terminal which historically was known as the Duluth and Northeastern Railroad.
From SAPPI's own page:
Our integrated pulp and paper mill in Cloquet, Minnesota, is the most modern pulp mill operating in the US. By utilizing Continuous Batch Cooking, we are able to achieve extended delignification while maintaining high yield and strength properties. Also in 2013, we further modernized the pulp mill by adding two additional batch digesters as well as an acid pre-hydrolysis stage and an ozone bleaching stage. These changes, along with modifications to our wood yard and pulp dryer, enable the mill to make either dissolving pulp for the textile market or bleached kraft pulp used for papermaking.
Cloquet, Minnesota
Thursday September 12, 2024