7-Tilden
It's about 8:30am on a early fall Tuesday morning near Palmer, Michigan. The Lake Superior & Ishpeming is beginning what seems to be a pretty regular day shift these days, with the 7-Tilden and 7-Weigher having gone on duty this morning. The two trains are now following each other west out of Eagle Mills, with the 7-Tilden seen here in the lead. Since we're at the far west end of the Eastern Time Zone, the sun is only just clearing the trees and found just enough of a hole in the clouds to add some spot lighting to the CEFX 1005 and 1003 (or as the crews refer to them, the "Oh-five and the Oh-three") as they haul their train of empty ore cars west for yet another trip to the Tilden Mine for loading.
The dark, greyish-red tint to almost all the bare dirt visible in this scene leaves no doubt as to what mineral is king in this area. In the background is the Empire Mine. The pellet production facility is in the foreground, and the tailings piles from the mine pit loom tall on the horizon. The facility operated up until 2016 when market conditions caused owner Cliffs Natural Resources to idle the mine. A few years ago this scene would have included huge piles of pellets under the conveyor/stackers in the background, and LS&I and CN trains (and before that, WC, UP, & CNW) would be loading on the tracks just beyond, barely visible in the weeds. The small hamlet of Palmer was quiet on this Tuesday morning, and without the loud sounds coming from the mill and constant truck traffic in and out, it was noticeably more quiet than what I remembered from previous visits here. Every once and a while a rumor about a possible reopening will surface, but time will tell whether any of those rumors might turn into reality. But for now LS&I no longer runs "Empire" jobs and the Tilden serves as the sole source of ore for this railroad as it continues to serve as a sort of conveyor belt from the mine to the ore dock in Marquette.
7-Tilden
It's about 8:30am on a early fall Tuesday morning near Palmer, Michigan. The Lake Superior & Ishpeming is beginning what seems to be a pretty regular day shift these days, with the 7-Tilden and 7-Weigher having gone on duty this morning. The two trains are now following each other west out of Eagle Mills, with the 7-Tilden seen here in the lead. Since we're at the far west end of the Eastern Time Zone, the sun is only just clearing the trees and found just enough of a hole in the clouds to add some spot lighting to the CEFX 1005 and 1003 (or as the crews refer to them, the "Oh-five and the Oh-three") as they haul their train of empty ore cars west for yet another trip to the Tilden Mine for loading.
The dark, greyish-red tint to almost all the bare dirt visible in this scene leaves no doubt as to what mineral is king in this area. In the background is the Empire Mine. The pellet production facility is in the foreground, and the tailings piles from the mine pit loom tall on the horizon. The facility operated up until 2016 when market conditions caused owner Cliffs Natural Resources to idle the mine. A few years ago this scene would have included huge piles of pellets under the conveyor/stackers in the background, and LS&I and CN trains (and before that, WC, UP, & CNW) would be loading on the tracks just beyond, barely visible in the weeds. The small hamlet of Palmer was quiet on this Tuesday morning, and without the loud sounds coming from the mill and constant truck traffic in and out, it was noticeably more quiet than what I remembered from previous visits here. Every once and a while a rumor about a possible reopening will surface, but time will tell whether any of those rumors might turn into reality. But for now LS&I no longer runs "Empire" jobs and the Tilden serves as the sole source of ore for this railroad as it continues to serve as a sort of conveyor belt from the mine to the ore dock in Marquette.