South Superior, Wisconsin, 14 SEP'83
A Soo Line eastbound grain train with 70 cars approaches "MJ" crossing of the BN (in foreground), behind two SD40-2 (6610-762.) The BN is the former Great Northern from the Twin Cities and Grand Forks, while the former NP trains from Staples would also be on this route by this time I believe, as a connection had been built at Carlton, Minn., for this purpose. The Soo Line's route from the Twin Cities joined the route from Brooten, Minn., not far behind this train at "Junction 278", and further west at Moose Lake, Minn., the "Brooten Line" was joined by the "Plummer Line" from that village south of Thief River Falls on the Winnipeg main line. The Brooten and Plummer lines were funnels for grain from western Minnesota and North Dakota, and iron ore from the Cuyuna Range also traveled this way to the NP ore docks in Superior (by the time of this shot, that ore movement was almost completely gone.) Unless the ore and/or grain was moving, this was a pretty quiet part of the Soo, and a part I deeply regret not having documented more often.
South Superior, Wisconsin, 14 SEP'83
A Soo Line eastbound grain train with 70 cars approaches "MJ" crossing of the BN (in foreground), behind two SD40-2 (6610-762.) The BN is the former Great Northern from the Twin Cities and Grand Forks, while the former NP trains from Staples would also be on this route by this time I believe, as a connection had been built at Carlton, Minn., for this purpose. The Soo Line's route from the Twin Cities joined the route from Brooten, Minn., not far behind this train at "Junction 278", and further west at Moose Lake, Minn., the "Brooten Line" was joined by the "Plummer Line" from that village south of Thief River Falls on the Winnipeg main line. The Brooten and Plummer lines were funnels for grain from western Minnesota and North Dakota, and iron ore from the Cuyuna Range also traveled this way to the NP ore docks in Superior (by the time of this shot, that ore movement was almost completely gone.) Unless the ore and/or grain was moving, this was a pretty quiet part of the Soo, and a part I deeply regret not having documented more often.