The Northshore Mining Railroad runs 47 miles from the open pit mine at Babbitt, Minnesota to the huge mill and plant facility on the shore of Lake Superior at Silver Bay. Raw ore is hauled down th... (more)

In the last light of a cold winter's day, NSM 651 pushes hard on a loaded tailings train traveling inland the seven miles from the plant to the tailing pond to unload and then return to the plant ... (more)

NSM 650 grunts and NSM 651 groans as they work together lifting heavy, wet coarse waste tailings out of the Lake Superior basin from Silver Bay to the tailings ponds 7 miles inland.

Another train of waste course tailings heads up to the basin with a blue NSM logo pushing in DPU mode.

Having run the complete 47 mile NSM mainline with tailings ( fine waste rock from the taconite production process) for the mine haul roads, NSM 651 heads back to Silver Bay and is just outside Bab... (more)

Spring in northern Minnesota with snow on one side and evidence of a grass fire on the other on the NSM mainline at M.P. 6. Two SD40-3's, one leading and one in DPU mode come down from the tailin... (more)

An empty tailings train heads back down the hill to the Silver Bay yard.

Heading back to Silver Bay after dumping their train of coarse tailings at the massive basin at M.P. 7, NSM 650 leads the way to take on another load and do it all over again.

Empty tailings train with DPU SD40-3s returns to Silver Bay from Babbitt.