A pair of Union Pacific EMD SD50s power a southbound taconite ore train over the Escanaba River Bridge at North Escanaba, Michigan, on January 18, 1997. This Pratt through truss bridge was built in 1892 by Lassig Bridge & Iron Works for Chicago & North Western on their ore line running from Partridge Junction to the ore dock located on Lake Michigan at Escanaba. After Union Pacific merged Chicago & North Western, it only had the Upper Peninsula of Michigan ore line for a short time before Wisconsin Central, and later Canadian National, operated it. In late 1996 and early 1997, the trains were powered by former MoPac EMD SD50s, with a SD40-2 occasionally thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, this bridge was replaced in 2015, and with the closure of Empire Mine, Canadian National closed the ore dock in Escanaba in 2017.
