WC 6616 loaded ore symbol EJELD from Auburn Mine crossing Crawford Creek, Superior, Wis; Oct 15, 1995_
The sturdy steelwork of the DM&IR bridge over Crawford Creek feels the weight of a loaded natural ore train. This train was loaded at the Auburn Mine along the DM&IR and was destined for the blast furnaces of U.S. Steel's Gary Works in Indiana.
In early 1994 mining of natural ore began again at the dormant Auburn Mine, one of the last known pits of natural iron ore on the Mesabi Range, near Virginia. The primary recipient of this ore was US Steel's Gary Works. Initially the ore was to be shipped through the DM&IR ore docks and lake vessel. However, the moisture content of the unscreened ore made it sticky and dumping at the dock was difficult. So, in October 1994, managers opted to move the ore in all-rail trains using DM&IR cars and via a DM&IR-WC-EJ&E routing.
Originally slated to be only 4 trains, then upped to 10, it ended up being a total of 20 that year. The following year, August 1995, Auburn all-rail trains started up again with 35 trains operated up to mid-October. In 1996, a drying/screening plant was built at the Auburn Mine to solve the moisture problems and dock/boat shipments resumed as originally intended, thus ending the movement of natural ore over the WC. WC symbols for these trains were EJELD for loaded trains and EJEEM for empty movements.
The above info was pirated from my WC book Volume 2 and was co-written with my friend Brian Buchanan who worked in the WC marketing/traffic department.
WC 6616 loaded ore symbol EJELD from Auburn Mine crossing Crawford Creek, Superior, Wis; Oct 15, 1995_
The sturdy steelwork of the DM&IR bridge over Crawford Creek feels the weight of a loaded natural ore train. This train was loaded at the Auburn Mine along the DM&IR and was destined for the blast furnaces of U.S. Steel's Gary Works in Indiana.
In early 1994 mining of natural ore began again at the dormant Auburn Mine, one of the last known pits of natural iron ore on the Mesabi Range, near Virginia. The primary recipient of this ore was US Steel's Gary Works. Initially the ore was to be shipped through the DM&IR ore docks and lake vessel. However, the moisture content of the unscreened ore made it sticky and dumping at the dock was difficult. So, in October 1994, managers opted to move the ore in all-rail trains using DM&IR cars and via a DM&IR-WC-EJ&E routing.
Originally slated to be only 4 trains, then upped to 10, it ended up being a total of 20 that year. The following year, August 1995, Auburn all-rail trains started up again with 35 trains operated up to mid-October. In 1996, a drying/screening plant was built at the Auburn Mine to solve the moisture problems and dock/boat shipments resumed as originally intended, thus ending the movement of natural ore over the WC. WC symbols for these trains were EJELD for loaded trains and EJEEM for empty movements.
The above info was pirated from my WC book Volume 2 and was co-written with my friend Brian Buchanan who worked in the WC marketing/traffic department.