With a trip up to Marquette, Michigan to help Aunt Marian pack for a move to Grand Rapids, I contacted Tom Carello, local railfan, and asked if he would show me around the Lake Superior and Ishpeming. As it turned out, I went with him and Jim Alain to Duluth the following days, getting my fill of Iron Range Railroads.
We started our day on the LS&I at the crack of dawn, with a light set of locomotives headed to the mines.
It's nice to see that the locals have added to the friendly neighborhood roadside trashpile. Comparing this scene to photos taken almost one year ago, I note a new lawn mover, fridge, and cast iron sink. Though vistas like this are rare in my town, it does make a dandy photo prop.
The LS&I's preying-mantis-on-wheels arrived shortly thereafter.
A truck tagged along with the preying mantis. It was interesting to see how one of these vehicles is kept on the tracks. I'm partly surprised to see that the wheel raising and lowering operation hasn't been automated. It just seems like a lot of trouble to get out and ratchet up each set of wheels. Note the stray Fisher-Price deal under the truck - looks like someone had a boo-boo.
With little promise of further activity on the LS&I, Tom led us down one of the worst roads I had ever seen. We surmised that the WC - ahem, CN - ore job would be getting near Goose Lake. Sure enough, after a few minutes of judiciously avoiding boulders and chuck-holes, we arrived at a siding in the middle of the woods. A long string of loaded ore cars told us that the train hadn't left. After a short interlude, a whistle sounded in the distance.
I was quite thrilled to see two SD-45s still in operation. I'll take these faded and beaten locomotives over any CN tomato worms any day.
Shots taken over Goose Lake. While the fog was quite thick, I think it adds to the picture.
Back in Marquette, there was no fog to be had. With a boat on each side of the LS&I ore dock, the railroad looked to be in for a busy day. Unfortunately, the dock job was not working (or visible) at this time.
The scanner told of a train heading back up to Eagle Mills, so Tom put the car in warp-drive. We barely beat the train up to this lake in a campground area. With the roads in the condition that they are in, it's a wonder that there aren't more collisions out there.
With an extra-fast trip back out of the camp area, we caught up with the train when it crossed over US-2.
And seconds later, we shot the train crossing the bridge just off the highway. It would be nice if someone did a foliage job on one or two of those trees for a killer evening shot.
With the train squirreling around on the scales, we found our way into to the bridge just outside Eagle Mills with plenty of time to spare.
Swinging around caught this view of the locomotives. Not the older-than-dirt trucks on the ore car.
Pulling into the Eagle Mills yard.
The scanner once again tipped us off to the next move. The locomotives that just brought the train up from the dock were to take a car of propane to Ferrelgas in Negaunee. We caught the train under the old signal bridge in Negaunee. It's really quite a contrast between the railroad's physical plant from the days of old and the amount of track used today.
Leaving the gas spur, the sun came out. The tracks are well on their way to vanishing beneath the dirt and weeds.
The locomotives carefully tiptoe out of Ferrelgas. I can easily see an overturned rail at this location some day.
And that concluded an excellent, productive day of railfanning on the Upper Peninsula's vest pocket railroad.