On Tuesday I was in Ishpeming. I made my usual loop around the CN (ex CNW/SOO/LS&I) West Ishpeming yard. I was fortunate enough to catch an IC (1005 I think) and CN unit working the west end of the yard. From the collection of gons and hoppers loaded with used ties, I surmised that the crew was making up a train to head west to L'Anse. The used ties are burned at the Warden power plant.
I then went up to the engine house/depot area of the yard off Lakeshore Drive. There I found a pair of CN six axles tied onto a train that included a cut of gondolas from the Eagle Mine mill at Humboldt along with a mix of other cars. Within a few minutes, this train headed east through Negaunee and on toward Eagle Mills. (The train would eventually end it's day in Escanaba).
I do not recall ever seeing two trains in Ishpeming at the same time.
I went by the LS&I yard at Eagle Mills. I saw one cut of ore cars (with a layer of snow on top of the pellets) sitting in the departure yard. The only power I saw was a pair of the BN Green GEs idling on the ready track near the engine house. There has been an unusually large number of covered hoppers (BN/ASTF/BNSF) sitting in the Eagle Mills yard all winter. There is a fair number of these cars in bentonite service for the mines, but no where near the quantity that I have seen this winter.
The first ore boat is scheduled to arrive on Saturday ice permitting. The LS&I is coming out of hibernation.
