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Because of the location of the LS&I's Marquette docks, the railroad must cross the [[Dead River (Michigan)|Dead River]]. The [[Trestle bridge|trestle]] is {{convert|565|ft|m}} long and {{convert|104|ft|m}} high.
Because of the location of the LS&I's Marquette docks, the railroad must cross the [[Dead River (Michigan)|Dead River]]. The [[Trestle bridge|trestle]] is {{convert|565|ft|m}} long and {{convert|104|ft|m}} high.

= Diesel fleet =
the lake superior and ishpeming began replacing there fleet of steam locomotives in the 1950's with the purchase of [[ALCO RS-1]] locomotives and [[ALCO RS-3]] locomotives. In the 1960's there roster changed a lot. Right at the start of th 1960's the LS&I purchased 4 [[ALCO RSD-12]] locomotives to haul bigger iron ore trains. But the biggest change to the roaster was in 1964 when the LS&I purchased there first non Alco locomotive. The LS&I bought 2 [[GE U25C]] locomotives. There roster stayed the same until 1968. When the LS&I went back to [[General Electric]] and ordered 5 [[GE U23C]] locomotives this order finally helped to retire some of the rs3's and all of the rs1's. This was there roster until 1976 and 1977 the LS&I went on a Alco shopping Spree for Alco locomotives. They purchased 4 more [[ALCO RSD-12]] from the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] and 7 of the famous

[[ALCO RSD-15]] 'alligators' from the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.]] This would be the LS&I's roster until 1990 the LS&I wanted to replace there whole roster with new locomotives. They bought 16 [[GE U30C]] locomotives from the [[Burlington Northern Railroad]] and 2 from Detroit Edison as parts downers. Then again the LS&I bought more ex Burlington Northern motive power in the form of 4 [[GE C30-7]] locomotives. The u30's and the c30's were the main power on the LS&I until 2011 when the LS&I leased 8 [[CIT Group]] [[GE AC4400CW]] locomotives which resulted in almost all the u30's and even the c30's to get sidelined. All except 2 of each class of locomotive there are two u30c's still in service and two c30-7s still in service.

In January of 2022 the LS&I purchased 3 of the cit group ac44's.

== Steam fleet ==
The ls&I had a variety of different steam locomotives from Alco the railroad had 2-8-0's 2-8-2's 2-10-2's all were used for ore trains and almost all of them are left!!

<ref name="trains" />.<ref name="trains">{{cite journal |last = Lustig |first = David |title = For LS&I, a new look |journal = [[Trains (magazine)|Trains]] |date = January 2011 |volume = 71 |issue = 1 |page = 19 |issn = 0041-0934 }}</ref>



==Nicknames==
==Nicknames==

Revision as of 19:03, 11 January 2023

Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad
Overview
HeadquartersMarquette, Michigan
Reporting markLSI
LocaleUpper Peninsula of Michigan
Dates of operation1896–present
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad (reporting mark LSI), is a U.S. railroad offering service from Marquette, Michigan, to nearby locations in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It began operations in 1896. The LS&I continues to operate as an independent railroad from its headquarters in Marquette.

At the end of 1970, LS&I operated 117 miles of road on 241 miles of track (188 on 388 km); that year it reported 43 million ton-miles (63 million tkm) of freight.[citation needed] In 2011, LS&I had been reduced to 25 miles (40 km) of track.[1]

History

Vintage LS&I steam locomotive, 1890s.

The Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railway was organized in 1893 as a subsidiary of Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company (now Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.), the iron ore mining company. From the start the railroad's primary business was the transport of iron ore from the Marquette Iron Range, west of Marquette, to docks on Lake Superior from which the ore could be shipped to steel mills on the lower Great Lakes. The primary towns on the iron range are Ishpeming and Negaunee, Michigan.

Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad box car, built in 1901, on display at Mid-Continent Railway Museum

In 1904 the railroad carried over 1.2 million short tons (1.1 Mt) of freight, and over 1.1 million short tons (1.00 Mt) of that was iron ore. It had 489 ore cars, 14 locomotives, and 121 employees.[2]

In 1923 the LS&I Railway merged with the Munising, Marquette and Southeastern Railway (MM&SE), a short line running from Marquette 40 miles (64 km) east to Munising to form the LS&I Railroad. The LS&I's new spur ran through a section of the Upper Peninsula thickly forested with pulpwood, adding a second commodity to the LS&I's workload. The MM&SE/LS&I also operated a second spur from Marquette northwest to Big Bay.

Passenger operations were never major. In 1904 the railroad carried over 180,000 passenger-miles, compared to over 24 million ton-miles (35 million tkm) of freight. In 1931 two trains a day ran each way from Munising to Lawson, Marquette and Princeton. One train ran from Marquette to Big Bay and one on the east branch from Munising to Shingleton. By 1940 the Munising-to-Princeton and Lawton-to-Marquette service had been reduced to one train a day each way, and Big Bay service was operating three times a week. This level of service lasted at least to 1950. By 1955 the only passenger service remaining was a single daily train from Munising to Princeton; Marquette and Big Bay were no longer served. All passenger service had been discontinued by 1960. By 1962, diesel locomotives had replaced steam locomotives on the line.

LS&I Railway Express Agency car "J.H.Kline" at the National Railroad Museum

The Big Bay spur was sold in the 1960s and Munising operations ended in the 1980s.[citation needed] A line between Humboldt and the Republic Mine (part of the Marquette Iron Range) was abandoned and railbanked in 2004.[3] Part of the line was reactivated by the Mineral Range Railroad in 2012 for a new mine, the Humboldt Mine.[4]

As of 2016, the Lake Superior & Ishpeming's primary remaining business continued to be the transport of iron ore over a 16-mile (26 km) short line from the Tilden Mine south of Ishpeming, operated by Cleveland-Cliffs, to Lake Superior for transport. Tonnage was declining sharply due to the shutdown of the adjacent Empire Mine, also historically served by the LS&I.[5]

Engineering

The Lake Superior & Ishpeming's historic main line operates on a relatively steep grade, called "The Hill", from Marquette to the iron mines. The steepest gradient is 1.63%.

Because of the location of the LS&I's Marquette docks, the railroad must cross the Dead River. The trestle is 565 feet (172 m) long and 104 feet (32 m) high.

Nicknames

The LS&I's nicknames have included "Hayden's Scheme," "The Hook and Eye," "Little Sally and Imogene" (after the names of two daughters of H. R. Harris, its first general manager), and "Lazy, Slow, and Independent".[6]

Preservation

Lake Superior & Ishpeming ALCO 2-8-0 No. 19, lettered as Frisco No. 19, in Frisco, Texas

Almost all the preserved steam locomotives from the LS&I were saved by the Marquette and Huron Mountain tourist railroad of Marquette.[7][8] All were sold off to separate preservation groups by 2002.

LS&I ALCO 2-8-0 No. 24 preserved at Green Bay, 1970

Diesel preservation

GE U23C #2300 is preserved at the Arkansas railroad museum in Van Buren, Arkansas.

GE U25C #2501 is on static display in Marquette Michigan with a vintage lake superior and ishpeming Iron ore car and a caboose.

ALCO RSD-15 #2407 is preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum, and it is operational.

ALCO RS-1 1002 is Operational on the boone and scenic valley railroad masquerading as Minneapolis and saint Louis #1002.

See also

References

  1. ^ HNTB Corporation. "Michigan State Rail Plan - Technical Memorandum #2 - Existing Conditions" (PDF). Michigan Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on February 20, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ Office of the Michigan Railroad Commissioner (1905). Annual Report of the Commissioner of Railroads of the State of Michigan, for the Year Ending 1905 (Report). Lansing, MI: Michigan Railroad Commission. OCLC 10091602.[page needed]
  3. ^ "69 FR 64632 - Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad Company-Abandonment Exemption-in Marquette County, MI". Federal Register. Government Publishing Office. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  4. ^ "Mineral Range, Inc.-Acquisition and Operation Exemption-Rail Line of Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad Company". Federal Register. August 23, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  5. ^ "CEO: Empire Mine in Upper Peninsula will close". Detroit Free Press. Detroit. March 25, 2016.
  6. ^ Durocher, Aurele A. (April 1958). "The Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad Company". Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin. 98 (98): 7–31. JSTOR 43520202.
  7. ^ "Marquette & Huron Mountain Railroad". www.railroadmichigan.com. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  8. ^ "Re: Rio Grande Scenic 18 NNG". ngdiscussion.net. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  9. ^ "Welcome to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum". Lake Superior Railroad Museum. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  10. ^ "Steam Locomotive Information". www.steamlocomotive.info.
  11. ^ Colebrookdale Railroad Weekly Update 7/2/21, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved July 3, 2021
  12. ^ [1] Archived June 11, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 6-11-15.
  13. ^ "Steam Locomotive Information". www.steamlocomotive.info.
  14. ^ "RailPictures.Net Photo: LS&I 20 Lake Superior & Ishpeming Steam 2-8-0 at Allen, Texas by Nelson Acosta Spotterimages". www.railpictures.net. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  15. ^ "BMG Railroad Contractors LLC". www.facebook.com. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  16. ^ "Mid-Continent Railway Museum website". Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  17. ^ "Empire State Railway Museum - Home". www.esrm.com. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  18. ^ "Steam Locomotive Information". www.steamlocomotive.info.
  19. ^ "Western Maryland Scenic Railroad | Train Rides in Cumberland, MD". Western Maryland Railroad.

External links

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