5/1/05: Some memories from Tom Sharland of Ishpeming. Thanks Tom! I worked on the LS&I as a switchman / brakeman / conductor / yard foreman from 1962 to 1970 and as a kid, had an aunt and uncle living on South Lake Street in Marquette, so I can identify with Allen Maki's remembrances of railroad in that area. I worked mainly on the Mqt. yard and dock assignments, also out of the old Ishpeming yard, the Humboldt job that serviced the Humboldt and Republic mines; the Eagle Mills Pellet Plant, Ore Improvement Plant and Pioneer Pellet PlantAlso, back in the late '60's, we went past Ishpeming's Winthrop Junction to the old Tilden Mine (before it became the giant it is today. We made the run later to the Empire as well. Occasionally, I would work the Munising run to - first, Gwinn, then Little Lake, with occasional side trips to Sunrise Landing 'way up east, near Grand Marais for logging loads. The "Hill Extra" was one of my favorites, running from Marquette to Ishpeming, often a 12-hour shift. Most of that track is gone now, and there are no longer any "road jobs," requiring a caboose on the tail end of a train. And if I remember correctly, a "train" is not a train unless it is displaying markers (side lights or white flags on the head end and red lights or markers on the back of the caboose). My dad, uncles and grandfather all worked on the "pikes," and it seems I naturally moved into it myself after I got out of the Army in 1962. In 1970 I moved on to work at the Mqt. Prison, but miss the railroad to this day. It seemed that during the time I was growing up. we always lived close to the LS&I, and the old steam engines fascinated me. By the time I began work there, however, the only steamers active were working on the ore dock to clean pockets; the rest had been sold or moved to the M&HM tourist railroad, which ran parallel to our tracks in West Yard, just west of the ore dock on Lake Shore Blvd. The 7 AM Marquette Yard job was one of my favorites; usually under the supervision of John Sullivan, we pushed several freight cars from West Yard to town, with a caboose at the point and the locomotive (usually one of the 1,000-class) pushing. The "crummy" (caboose) had a small air whistle to warn people at crossings, though we moved slowly. By city ordinance, blowing the engine whistle was not allowed. Crossing the highway (US-41) to switch coal cars at the prison was always an adventure; there were no lights at that crossing, and pushing blindly up that hill was not for the faint of heart, riding on a coal van with nothing but a small switchman's lantern for light; these switches, it seemed, usually occurred in late evening or at night.
5/25/04 : Here are some memories from Allen Maki. I copied them exactly,
hope you don't mind Allen!
My father worked for the L.S.& I. until he died in 1990. When I was a
boy (1972-73) he would take me with him to the yards when he was a car
inspector. His regular job was a car repairman in the main shops.
We would walk the line of ore cars just in from Eagle Mills (& other
locations) to check for damage or defects before they were allowed onto the
ore dock. We would mark the damaged cars so they could taken out of the string
before they went up on the dock.
The engineers even took me on the run up to Eagle Mills and back. I
remember how scared I was when we crossed the bridge on the way to Eagle
Mills...the valley seemed like it was a mile below us! They even allowed me to
ride the train up onto the ore dock! It was very exciting for a small boy (and
more fun than walking the Soo Line ore dock, in the middle of winter, in the
dead of night, like I did in 1981!).
When he was inspecting cars, my dad worked out of a little shed in the
yards. On a dead end siding behind it was one of the old L.S.& I. steam
engines. It was in a deplorable state. He would let me climb all over it & I
remember playing in the cab.
While waiting for the next train we would pick blueberries & fill his lunch
pail with them.
We lived on South Lake Street where I would watch the Soo Line trains pass
by when I was very young, & the L.S.& I. would run a train or two on the
second pair of tracks in front of the house as well. They would head down to
the end of the street to a switch siding to switch the old RS-1 (or was it
RS - 3) and yellow caboose from one end of a gondola car to the other and then
come back. We would walk down the street to watch the whole operation.
I loved the look of those old engines.
I remember yard trains, freight trains, work trains, put-puts, and coal
trains passing in front of the house. We would run from every direction to get
out front, stand on the fence, and watch the trains go by. We would wave at
the engineers of both railroads & they would wave back. We would walk the
tracks & wonder where they went!
I remember standing on the fence watching the trains go by or watching them
while I was swimming in the lake. We always worried they would derail & come
over the cliff blocking our way back home!
When I used to come home on leave, I would stand where the tracks used to
be & to this day I can almost hear the train whistles that warned us that a
train was coming. The sound that brought us all to the front yard to look at
the trains.
I miss the view of Lake Superior, I miss watching the trains I grew up with
& I miss the feeling of the ground as it trembled when the trains went by. I
miss the smile and the friendly wave of the engineers as they drove their
engines by, and I miss watching for the different type of rail cars.
When I come home, I still collect ore pellets from where the tracks used to
be & I give them to friends and coworkers here. I have done speeches and
papers for college on the iron industry and the railroads of Upper Michigan.
It never fails to amaze me that so little is known about the history of the
U.P outside of Upper Michigan!
It is sad that no more trains will run by my mothers house & that no more
train whistles will be heard in south Marquette.
The Soo Line yards are empty & soon will be turned into condos & houses.
What a sad end to the glory days of railroading in Marquette.
Since you are an L.S.&I. rail road buff, I thought you might enjoy my
memories.