Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Visit the former Duluth Mesabi and Iron Range in Northern Minnesota where heavy taconite trains roll from the mines to the CN ore docks in Two Harbors along the shore of Lake Superior.

Owned and operated today by CN Railway, the historic lines of the DM&IR still play a vital role in transporting taconite between the mines and the Great Lakes freighters bound for steel mills on the lower Great Lakes.

In Part 1, we will cover the Iron Range Sub which feeds the CN dock at Two Harbors. The majority of traffic is taconite pellets from US Steel’s Minntac Plant near Mountain Iron.

This program is available on DVD and Blu-ray at 7ideaproductions.com.
7ideaproductions.com/collections/frontpage/products/minnesotas-iron-range-part-1-the-iron-range-sub

0:00 Intro
3:29 Map
6:31 The Mesabi Range/Virginia
9:05 Ramshaw
16:19 Sparta
21:44 Jones
26:52 Biwabik
29:28 Aurora
30:30 Hoyt Lakes
30:56 Nugget
33:59 Allen Junction
28:23 Skibo
44:15 Skibo Viewpoint
45:49 Fairbanks
56:14 Brimson
57:47 Wales
1:04:24 Highland
1:07:37 Alger
1:08:34 Waldo
1:12:15 Two Harbors
1:22:23 Lake Superior
1:26:22 North Shore Scenic Railroad