Lake Superior & Mississippi RR 2013

On Sunday, July 21, 2013, I journeyed with friends to Duluth to ride the Lake Superior & Mississippi Tourist Railroad.  This train follows the first roadbed into Duluth, with the first train arriving in 1870.  This line had been out-of-service until July 13 because of a severe washout from the bad Duluth flood in the summer of 2011. 

The line's only engine is this General Electric 50-ton Center Cab switcher, built in 1946.

One reason I like to ride this line is their open-air car.  A flat car with sides added, the rider experiences nature first-hand.

Friends Rod Peters, Joe Lewis, and Roswitha Peters traveled with me this day.

The other reason I like this line is that the track is laid right beside the St. Louis River, where nature abounds.

Part of the line is owned by the BNSF Railroad and the rest of the line is owned by the City Of Duluth and maintained by the LS&M Railroad.  BNSF serves the only industry on the line, the Tate Lyle Company which makes sweetner for candy.

Come along for a ride along the St. Louis River!!

At the end of the line, the engine "runs around" the train and pulls it back to the station.

Near the end of the line we pass under the unique Steelton Bridge.  Connecting Minnesota and Wisconsin, Canadian National Railroad trains pass on the top level while automobiles and trucks pass on the lower level.

The road in the foreground becomes the bottom level of the bridge.

As we head back to the station, a CN stack train passes overhead!!

After arriving at the station we tour railroad sites in the Twin Ports including Proctor and Pokegama Yard before heading back home.  At Solon Springs we catch a CN meet with the northbound train headed up by 5 engines.

Another fun day of riding trains!!!