Saving and Sharing Railroad and Industrial History within the Twin Ports.
Welcome to the official home of Twin Ports Rail History by Jeff Lemke. Some of the greatest industrial landscapes in North America once included the railways of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin—and the businesses that they served here.
While prosperity was often fleeting in these communities, the people at the Head of the Lakes area have always made the most out of what they were given. Their story is interwoven with the machines and bricks and roadways that make up this place. Make no mistake about it—it was their daily effort that built and grew these towns and allowed their businesses and families to survive—and thrive.
Since 1975, the goal of our project has been to uncover things relevant to telling a more accurate story about the railroad and industrial past at Duluth, Superior, and surrounding communities—including the great Iron Ranges of the State of Minnesota—the Cuyuna, the Mesabi, and the Vermillion. We work with the families of retired railroaders to pull data, details, and images from their personal collections—so that we can see today—just how things used to be back in those good old days of railroading in the Twin Ports. Our collaboration with many like-minded historians, are celebrated here.
We’re always interested to learn more about your own collection and we do purchase slides, negatives, photographs and printed materials related to railroad operations in Duluth-Superior between 1870 and 1980. If you have a collection to share or sell, please contact us at your earliest convenience. We do buy collections outright, small and large.
To contact us today — click here
OUR LATEST COLLABORATION
When Kalmbach author Jeff Wilson contacted us about using some of our materials in his latest book, The Model Railroader’s Guide to Iron Ore Railroads, we opened our collection to him to help create a more interesting and accurate story about iron ore mining and railroading in the States of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Jeff’s 112-page book, released in March 2021, is a must-have for anyone interested in iron ore mining and the transportation of that ore all the way from the ore mines of the upper midwest to the blast furnaces along the lower Great Lakes. We’re always happy to contribute to projects like this because it’s what enables others to enjoy more satisfaction from their hobby activities. Thank you Jeff Wilson and Kalmbach, for inviting us to help.
Click on the picture above to purchase one of these books today.
GET YOURS BEFORE THEY’RE GONE!
Jeff Wilson’s The Model Railroader’s Guide to Iron Ore Railroads includes a number of our shots from the digital image disc Twin Ports Time Machine Vol. 2—Northern Pacific Railway’s Lake Superior Division. If you enjoyed seeing those shots in Jeff’s book, then you really need to know about our CD-ROM digital image disc that includes another 150 high resolution images showing the Northern Pacific Railway when it moved the last of the ore to the joint NP/Soo Cuyuna Ore Dock in Superior, Wisconsin. Our CD covers Superior, Carlton, and the iron mining district of the Cuyuna Iron Range. Be sure to get yours before they’re gone and relive the glory days of moving ore along the Northern Pacific Railway during the early 1960s.
Click on the picture above or link below to purchase a CDs today.