An old DM&IR lock hangs open on the stand used to switch and connect the former DM&IR Hinsdale Branch to the Erie Mining Company (EMCO). This was the only connection Erie had to the outside world and they would interchange supplies used in the iron ore pellet making process here with the former Missabe Road. EMCO and later LTV Steel would ship the finished product on their own 75 mile mainline to Taconite Harbor on the shore of Lake Superior for loading into ships. They had all the facilities needed to be self sufficent by design in the early 1950's when it was built. With the mine closed rail traffic no longer exists here and the elements are starting to take over.