These are notes I am writing to help me learn our industrial history. They are my best understanding, but that does not mean they are a correct understanding.
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Marquette, MI: 1912 Lake Superior and Ishpeming Presque Isle Ore Dock #6
Photos concerning the abandoned Soo/DSSA Ore Dock in the Lower Harbor have been moved to here. These notes describe the still operational LS&I Ore Dock in the Upper Harbor at Presque Isle.
The first pocket dock was developed in Marquette in 1857. [HAER, Significance]
HAER MICH,52-MARQ,1--3 Southwest aerial view of the dock and its approach, c1970. Photographer: unknown (photographic copy of original) - Marquette Ore Dock No. 6, Fifth to Lake Streets, Marquette, Marquette County, MI
Thom Skelding posted Photo taken April 7th 1941 at Marquette Upper Harbor ore dock. World War 2 was raging, and iron ore for steel was a priority. I had never seen three boats like this at the dock. Pretty cool even with the trees getting in the way! Dean Sauvola: What's wild is the newest ore cars on the dock could very well still be in service on the LS&I.
Note the hopper for unloading coal and limestone for the power plant behind the dock. Limestone is used to remove the sulfur from the flue gas and the byproduct is gypsum, which can be used to make drywall.
Jerry More Jr. posted
Marquette Michigan 8/5/19 Jerry Moore Jr.If you zoom in and look at the front of the barge you can see three shoots lowered down, pouring ore into the barge.
Dirk S. Vanenkevort/ Michigan Trader on final approach to the LS&I dock in Marquettes upper harbor. This is the second year that the Vanenkevort has opened the season in Marquette, with the first being March 25, 2021. The Wilfred Sykes is expected to arrive early tomorrow morning. 3/23/24
[The comments are debating if that is silt being kicked up or if they dumped their "waste" tank.]
Brock Krenke posted David Schauer shared Excellent image from Marquette today - shared from our sister group.
Mark Andersen posted LS&I Presque Isle ore dock 9-96.
Bob O'Donnell:The Presque Isle Ore Dock in the Upper Harbor district of Marquette, Mich. was built during 1911-1912 by the Lake Superior & Ishpeming (LS&I) Railroad, a subsidiary of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Mining Co. The dock stands 75 feet high and projects 1,200 feet into Lake Superior.
Made of reinforced-concrete and steel, the structure replaced a wooden ore dock that dated back to 1896. To support the current dock’s size and weight, nearly 10,000 timber piles were driven 20 feet deep into the lake bottom before construction could begin.
The ore dock is still in use today and contains 200 ore pockets, each with a storage capacity of 250 tons, for a total structure capacity of 100,000,000 pounds of iron ore. The previous wooden structure had a total storage capacity of 72,000,000 pounds of ore.
Most of the railyard had been repurposed for a coal-fired power plant. That plant closed in 2019.
1954 Marquette Quad @ 1:24,000
Marty Bernard posted SOO Line Scale at Marquette, MI, no date, Karl Miller photo. The scale is under the tracks in the left foreground. Two of the four rails are a bypass track not connected to the scale so the very heavy locomotive and the cars you didn't want to weigh could bypass the scale. I have no idea what that red vertical pipe is next to the scale house. The scale house has a substantial chimney. Steve McEwen commented, "Pipe is a vent for scale pit. Venturi on top allows wind to naturally draw moist air up and away from scale. Marty Bernard shared
David Schauer posted One reason I like visiting Marquette in the fall is the color close to the dock. The Hon. James L. Oberstar loading 26,000 tons of Tilden flux pellets for Rouge/Detroit. 10/22/2021 Caleb Hoffarth: Really a great photo with detail. 👍🏻.Witch brings me to a question. Whats with things sticking out in the water with a specific rectangular pattern? Is it from an old dock or for erosion prevention for bow thrusters? David Schauer: Caleb Hoffarth Original ore dock pilings.
Most Lakers have a bow thruster. At 3:07, you can see the bow of the Lee A. Tregurtha moving sideways.
MV Saginaw posted (source)
A view down the walkway showing the counter-weights to the iron ore chutes at LS&I Ore Dock in Marquette, MI. Completed in 1912, this is one of the last of its kind. The main structure is original proving they really don't build 'em like this anymore!
DRE Designs - Great Lakes Marine Products commented on the above post
OMG Adam you seriously need to teach me... yours is so much better than mine!!! You are so good it's annoying but I love it LOL!!!
My day always starts off better with coffee and classic straight deckers.
Herbert C Jackson (1959) finishes up @ LS&I Ore Docks - Marquette
10/2018
Interlake Steamship Company posted four photos with the comment: "Happy#FreighterFridayfrom our M/V Hon. James L. Oberstar! Enjoy these unique loading pictures from Marquette’s ore dock. PC: Paul LaMarre III" (source)
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Danielle Adams shared her post LLT’S Michipicoten unloading stone at the upper harbor in Marquette 5-7-19 [This confirms that the hopper is for limestone as well as coal. It also helped me learn about the terminology of upper and lower harbors.]
1 of 3 photos posted by Thom Skelding Presque Isle, at Presque Isle! Marquette. May 15th, 2018. Someone will have to fill in why. Pretty sure it wasn't to load ore. I think it needed conveyor work. She arrived on the south side of the dock, and moved to the north side later. [I include this photo because of the big dome on the left. It is the world's largest wooden dome. "The facility has a diameter of 536 feet. It has the ability to withstand 60 pounds per square foot of snow and 80 mile per hour winds. The Dome's features include a retractable artificial turf carpet, the largest of its kind in the world. When extended, the turf has the ability to accommodate football, soccer (120 x 72 ft. field) and field hockey. Underneath the carpet is a synthetic playing surface that features three basketball/volleyball courts and a 200-meter track. Twelve computerized winches extend the carpet over a cushion of air. It takes 30 minutes to retract the artificial turf carpet and approximately two hours for full set up to be completed." [NMU]]
Thom Skelding posted three photos with the comment: "Presque Isle dock crew loading the Lee Tregurtha today. 7/20/2022"
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Danielle Adams posted ten photos with the comment: "Interlake's Hon. James L. Oberstar loading in Marquette 1-2-20" [I'm surprised that boats are still running on Lake Superior in January. And this is an old freighter because it has its bridge on the bow.]
Peggy Captain posted 15 photos with the comment: "Great day to be aboard the Block visiting friends. Last load out of Marquette this season. Headed for Toledo and then to Sturgeon Bay for a brief winters nap."
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Joe Bergeon posted I was working on one of the stacks at Presque Isle power plant, Marquette, MI, I believe around 2009. Not sure what ship. Christian Bastian: Looks like the Mesabi Miner.
1 of 9 drone photos posted by Greg Carrier 8/1/23 12:40p DJI Air 2s Today’s “shiptures” include the Joseph L. Block 🇺🇸 at the Marquette upper harbor ore dock and the Hon. James L. Oberstar 🇺🇸 waiting patiently a little ways out. Note the jet ski pirates doing a lap around the JLO. The panoramic photo of the JLB was a first attempt at such a picture. Let’s not forget to give a shout out to the tiny dredge with the big job of keeping things moving at the ore dock. For those that have issue with how close I fly some of these photos are cropped which gives the impression of recklessness 😉. James Torgeson shared Loading Marquette Iron Range ore at the Lake Superior & Ishpeming dock in Marquette, Michigan. These ore pellets came from the TIlden Mine, which like the railroad and ore dock is owned by Cleveland-Cliffs. Once loading is complete, the 721' Joseph L. Block (1976) will head to the Cleveland-Cliffs Indiana Harbor Works. Tim Grau: Last active property on the Marquette Iron Range.
1 of 4 photos and a video posted by Greg Carrier of maintenance work during Winter 2024 James Torgeson shared When the Soo Locks are closed it's time to do maintenance on the ore docks, and the Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad (LS&I) facility in Marquette is no different. The LS&I is one of seven Cleveland-Cliffs subsidiary railroads.
(new window, 15:45) Drone footage of a train servicing the dock. At 11:21, it shows a freighter coming in to pick up some ore. At 13:09 I presume we are seeing the prop wash of the bow thruster.
If you zoom in and look at the front of the barge you can see three shoots lowered down, pouring ore into the barge.
: David Schauer
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