Taconite Iron Ore Pellet Unit Train Southbound On The St. Louis Subdivision - 10/9/2010 - Inquiry

I was railfanning on the 9th of October, had just crossed the Frisco tracks northbound on I-55 south of Cape Girardeau, MO and saw a headlight southbound.

I managed to get off the interstate and onto the old U.S. 61 Highway overpass. The train was still a distance away and moving slow. As it got closer it appeared to be a unit coal train, but was wide open and fairly slow.

As it passed under the overpass the two lead units were wide open and the cars were about 1/3 full of taconite iron ore pellets. One unit was on the rear and it too was also wide open.

Question, where did this train originate and where was it going?

 

Dwain,

I do not know the specific mine loadout or destination steel mill, but the taconite trains originate in the iron ore range in northeast Minnesota in the Duluth, MN / Superior, WI region.

I have been told that this particular train goes to a mill outside of Birmingham, AL. The routing is through Minneapolis /St. Paul, MN down along the Mississippi River to Savanna, IL to Galesburg, IL, then to St. Louis, through Memphis, TN and finally to Birmingham.

I am not familiar with the present train make-up, but back in the 198os - 1990s, the taconite trains were short and heavy, 75-80 cars, 2,800 feet and 13,000 tons. An inexperienced engineer could easily get a knuckle starting or stopping one of these trains. Coupling air hoses on the older 28 feet ore cars was a brakeman's nightmare. The wheels stuck out a good 9 inches from the end frame sill of the car.

It was a tight squeeze between the wheels of two cars to get to the train line air hoses.

Steve Roberts