In this video, C. Vision Productions visits Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in search of the best railroad action this region has to offer. We’ll begin by briefly covering the Wisconsin Central before moving on to the Escanaba & Lake Superior, Lake Superior & Ishpeming, and Chicago & North Western. This program also features rare footage of the short-lived Wisconsin & Michigan Railway before their operations ceased. As an added bonus, we’ll ride in the cab of LS&I RSD-15 2405 from Eagle Mills Yard to Marquette, Michigan, and then up onto the Presque Isle ore dock on Lake Superior. Videographer Dan Hadley captured an incredible variety of motive power during his North Woods tour, as locomotives from four locomotive builders are seen leading trains throughout the video. Highlights include SD45s on the Wisconsin Central, SD9s and a Baldwin RS-12 on the Escanaba & Lake Superior, Alco RSD-12s and RSD-15s on the Lake Superior & Ishpeming, U23Cs on the Wisconsin & Michigan, along with tried and true SD40-2s and first-generation “geeps” on the Chicago & North Western. The LS&I was home to the final operating examples of GE’s U25C model. LS&I 2501 was the last to see service, and is featured in several scenes recorded in 1988. LS&I’s RS-3 1604 was captured on a run down to Munising Junction shortly before it was taken out of service. From heavy-haul mainlines in Wisconsin, to the fascinating network of ore lines in Michigan’s Marquette Iron Range, this is “North Woods Rails.”
More to watch from C. Vision Productions:
Rails Through the North Country: LS&I, WC, E&LS, Michigan Limestone Operations (2003)
https://youtu.be/YxirOUhVD1E
Wisconsin Central, Vol. 1 - Featuring WC SD45, SDL39, GP35, GP40, and SW1500 Locomotives
https://youtu.be/2Hp7fTZadrk
Classic Winter Trains Along the Mississippi River: Burlington Northern, Soo Line, CNW, GB&W, CC&P
https://youtu.be/ZMniVAULYUI
SD40-2 Stronghold: EMD Locomotives in Minnesota's Iron Ore Country FULL VIDEO (2018)
https://youtu.be/kvaEVuFQlhU
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway, The Last Days - FULL VIDEO (2004)
https://youtu.be/bp5Eent6YSg
LTV Mining Railroad: F-Units, Alcos, and Baldwins in Minnesota’s Arrowhead (1991-2004)
https://youtu.be/Q1UuEq69WNo