Station: White Pine, MI

White Pine was a townsite settled around the White Pine Mine about 1915 after mass copper was found here and the White Pine Copper Company was established. The mine closed in 1920 and then reopened in 1946 when a new process for recovering copper was established. [MPN]

White Pine was reached by two different railroads. The old Ontonagon Railroad reached town from the north. This became a branch of the MILW. Later, the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic railroad built a branch line to here from their main line at Bergland.

Photo Info: Top, the railroad yard at White Pine. This is the former branch of the DSS&A which is now owned by Canadian National. It served the copper mine at White Pine. 2003. [Dale Berry]. 2nd photo, White Pine Copper Mine #200 switches the plant in June, 1976. This unit is the former Copper Range 200, a Baldwin S-12. [Rob Kitchen]

Notes

Time Line

1918. MILW had a station agent here on the day shift. [TRT]

1964. Robert Richardson, traffic manager for the White Pine Copper Co., said his firm spends $2 million a year to ship its ore via the Soo Line railroad. [LSJ-1964-1110]

1966. Assessment: Within five years White Pine products will be doubled. Inbound coal shipments, currently 150,000 tons per year, will increase to170,000 tons in 1966 and eventually to 300,000 tons per year. We do not have an adequate yard at White Pine to handle this increased business. nor to we have a satisfactory schedule.

Presently cars for Chicago are pulled by No. 22 into Ewen and then the following day are handled by No. 21 to Marengo Jct. We should consider having a joint switching operation with White Pine, furnishing a Soo Line locomotive crew at joint expense to switch the mine and the Soo Line tacks to Bergland. [Memo to Soo Line Superintendent]