Dec 4, 2022
Leased Muscle
The Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway hauls taconite from the iron ranges of upper Minnesota to Duluth and Two Harbors on Lake Superior. From there the product is hauled by ship to blast furnaces located lower in the Great Lakes, such as Gary, Indiana.
During the winter months, when the Great Lakes fleet is frozen out of the game, the DM&IR leases some of its power to other roads. [Or at least they did when I was shooting back in the late 1970s.]
More than once I saw these intriguing units on the Illinois Central as well as on the Louisville & Nashville. I’m pretty certain the one pictured here is at an IC yard in Louisville. DM&IR 162 is an EMD SD9 built in April of 1959.
One image by Richard Koenig; taken March 26th 1977.
