Iron Mountain, MI: E&LS/Milwaukee Office/Depot & Freight House, C&NW Depot and Ford Wood Plant

E&LS Depot: (Satellite)

Milwaukee Freight House: (Satellite)

C&NW Depot: (Satellite)

Ford: (Satellite)

E&LS = Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad
 

Mark Hinsdale posted
Ken Draper: Iron Mtn. MI.... my town! The depot is used for storage by the owners, the Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad.
[I'm glad a shortline owns it. I'll bet a Class I railroad would have torn down the train order signal.]

Street View

David L. Addis posted
Thank you for adding me to the group.  This is the Iron Mountain, Michigan Railroad Station (photo from Flicker).  We were there in October and it is still closed and not being used for anything.

Dave Martens: Former Milwaukee Road

Marty Bernard posted two photos with the comment: "Iron Mountain, MI Depot in 1992, Karl Miller photo."

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Greg Bunce posted
The Iron Mountain, Michigan depot on a rainy day June 26, 1982.

Greg Bunce posted
Iron Mountain, Michigan passenger station, no date.  From the Alpha-Mastodon Historical Society

Greg Bunce posted
The Iron Mountain, Michigan freight house in June 1973. This was the original passenger station and was moved one block south when the new station was built in 1914.  It burned to the ground June 17, 1987 from unknown causes.

I got this aerial to locate the freight house. The depot is in the upper-left corner. So the freight house was about halfway between C and D Streets.

Aug 12, 1938 @ 20,000; AR1B00000280096

C&NW Depot and Railyard

Chicago & North Western Historical Society posted
This time we are looking at a postcard photo of the street side of the C&NW's  Iron Mountain, Michigan depot and downtown.  Note the unusual round crossing guard shanty at the lower left of the photo.  Iron Mountain with all the iron mines surrounding it made the C&NW a lot of money.
Junior Farmer: Hexagon, six sided crossing shanties. Typical, cuz curved glass is expensive and round structures are more difficult to make.
Janet Fairchild: And the Depot is still there

Dennis DeBruler commented on Janet's comment
 I'm guessing it is now the Bijou Lovely gift shop. https://maps.app.goo.gl/d8N73FubrxaQvtoTA

1955 Iron Mountain Quad @ 24,000

It appears from the topo map that Antoine Yard was by the wye for the three C&NW "spokes."

Satellite

safe_image for John W. Barriger Flickr

James Bennett: This would have been pulling the loaded cars off the Milw.Rd.transfer onto the Mainline of the Wye then the units were run around the wye and put onto the other end for movement to Escanaba Ore yard .

[Some comments include additional photos of C628s.]

Comments on the safe_image

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Ford Factory

This explains the industry we see in the lower-left corner of the above topo map.

Greg Bunce posted three photos with the comment:

The biggest shipper on the Milwaukee Road in Iron Mountain after the iron mines gradually closed after World War I was the Ford Motor Company.  Ford owned thousands of acres of timber lands in the Upper Peninsula and shipped thousands of carloads of logs off the Ontonagon Branch to it's plant in Kingsford where they were sawed up for car parts starting in 1921 for Model T's.  Eventually as cars used more steel in their bodies the plant transitioned to building Woodie Station Wagon bodies.  During World War II the plant built gliders for the Army Air Force.  In 1951 the plant produced it's last car body and closed as starting in 1952 Ford went to all steel bodies.  In 1954 the plant was sold and various businesses took over portions of the plant and continued to use rail up into the 1980's.  As a side note, if you have ever bought Kingsford Charcoal, it was originally produced at this plant from wood waste.

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I wonder how many of these buildings are still being used.

Satellite

The same aerial photo that had the freight house also had part of the Ford Factory.

Aug 12, 1938 @ 20,000; AR1B00000280096

I don't have time to research the location of the mines. I'll note it hear in case someone else wants to find this mine.

Alon Delores posted
Photograph of Iron Mountain's Chapin Mine, facing east. Notice how the Chapin Location, located to the left in this photograph has grown significantly. Numerous tramways come from various shafts at the foot of Millie Hill where the iron ore was dumped into waiting ore cars.  1882.  Dickinson County Library Digital Collection...