Location: Escanaba, MI - C&NW Ore Dumper

The C&NW ore facility replaced ore docks at Escanaba in the 1960's. Ore was brought east to the ore yard via the Ore Line. (Empties were returned to Iron River via the line through Powers).

The ore dumper called for strings of loaded ore cars, which were brought by a puller job from Ore Yard. There was a thawing building which was used when necessary in the winter. This was originally warmed by steam and then by electric power.

As of 2017, the ore dumper operations is no longer in operation. With the closing of the Empire Mine, all ore is shipped from the Cliffs dock at Presque Isle, north of Marquette.

Photo info: The CN ore dumper at Escanaba, MI in 2003. [Tom Carello]

Notes

Time Line

1965. The C&NW will begin running trains from Stambaugh and Crystal Falls with natural ore to the Escanaba docks. Previously, only pellet ore had been shipped because of danger of freezing. The railroad has had over 6,000 cars tied up with frozen ore in its Escanaba yards since last fall. Escanaba is the only iron ore shipping port on the Great Lakes open for business. "We're taking a chancer on freezing, but we're hoping for a break in the weather.",. said a railroad official. C&NW is running trains daily to the Empire Mine at Palmer and the Groveland Pellet Plant at Randville. With the addition of these natural ore trains, they are moving about 500-600 cars per day. ][EDP-1965-0615]

1967. A conflict over ore-hauling rates between a mining company and a railroad has halted - a least temporarily - plans for a new iron ore terminal in Escanaba. The clash, between the Hanna Mining Co. and C&NW railway became public Thursday night at a meeting of the Escanaba city council. A spokesman for the mining company said Hanna is prepared to build its own iron ore shipping dock in the city because of the rates charged by the railroad for shipping of iron ore pellets. Urging a one-dock concept for ore hauling, Provo said that an 1958 ICC ruling rejected a proposal of the LS&I railroad to build an iron ore dock on Little Bay De Noc, opposite Gladstone. [LSJ-1967-0924]