One Trip on This Railroad Cost $65 Million | The Iron Range and Huron Bay Railroad

In the late 1800s, construction began on a new railroad. It was a great idea - except for the ancient mountains standing in their way. This is the story of the Iron Range & Huron Bay Railroad in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. And it's one wild ride.
Thanks to the Baraga County Chamber of Commerce for supporting this video! To learn more about this area, click here: bit.ly/keweenawbay
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Key research sources I used to learn about the Iron Range and Huron Bay Railroad, the Huron Mountains, typhoid, the Canadian shield, and more:
IR&HB RR:
“The Railroad That Never Ran” by Robert D. Dobson
“True Tales: The Forgotten History of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula” by Mikel B. Classen
www.cbhhs.org/points-of-interest/
Typhoid:
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-c...
www.acs.org/content/acs/en/ed...
Geology:
pubs.usgs.gov/gip/birth/birth...
www.usgs.gov/geology-and-ecol...
www.nps.gov/kewe/learn/nature...
Corrections:
4:36 - At minimum! The rocks that make up the mountains often date back much farther than 1 billion years.
04:59 - To be more precise, the Canadian shield is /part/ of the nucleus of North America.
#Michigan #UpperPeninsula #Railroad

[@thezfunk]

As someone who grew up 30 mins from the UP in WI, 'the middle of nowhere' describes almost the entire Upper Peninsula

[@uprebel5150]

I live UP here too and you have to be more descriptive than that.

[@uprebel5150]

That two-track that you turned around at looked great actually for the UP. However, never go drivin' out in the woods without at least a bow saw. I take a chainsaw and use it more than you would think.

[@bold810]

(uuuppss) U.P.sss we not speak out loud about that. 😊😊😊😊😊

[@66bigbuds]

That's what I love about it. Until you break down and have to walk out for 6 to 8 hours.

[@crazykiller-qh9jn]

@@uprebel5150you ever hear of a town call Baraga county?

[@eherrmann01]

I just found your channel yesterday and have been pretty much binge watching since. Your infectious enthusiasm is addictive, and being originally from Michigan, I find your topics fascinating. We need more channels like yours on KZbin. Thank you.

[@AlexisDahl]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that.

[@Nphen]

@@AlexisDahl I am with Erik. I just found your channel and this is the 3rd video in a row I've started watching. Living near Lansing after nearly a decade in Grand Rapids and growing up near Detroit. Some of my wife's family grew up in the UP. I've only been there twice, but it's so amazing. Touring the Soo Locks was fun and could be a video on its own. So is the bike culture on Mackinac Island. And of course boating on the Great lakes. Cheers to more great content in 2023 and beyond!

[@nathanaelkolb4024]

Ditto!!

[@jasondk5127]

KZbin led me here too! It's great!

[@kkkk-wg6je]

God bless the UP

[@carlinglin7289]

Reminds of a joke, "The Five Phases of a Project: Enthusiasm, Disillusionment, Panic, The Search for the Guilty, The Punishment of the Innocent."

[@tallowisp8868]

Just imagine how the workers must have felt. Putting everything into building this thing, losing co workers to disease half way through and then it didn't even get used. Maybe I should remember that when I feel like a work meeting was wasted time and remind myself of how much worse it could have been.

[@tomlund4951]

Gratitude as an attitude! You can’t go wrong! ✊🏻

[@texasyojimbo]

What's weird is that Baraga County is "just down the road" in a sense from me... if by road you mean "US 41", since I live near Nashville, Tennessee.

[@AlexisDahl]

Ha, that's amazing! You also made me realize I've never looked up the full extent of US-41 - that's one heck of a road trip!

[@amberyooper]

@@AlexisDahl From the tip of the Keweenaw to the bottom of Florida...a very long drive...

[@erbewayne6868]

The north end past Copper Harbor used to end in a turnaround and a driveway with a chain across it.

[@AngelRodriguez-ge8os]

I’ve been living in WI for 4 and some years. While porcupine mountain and the surrounding forestland doesn’t exactly compare to the Cascades back from where I grew up, there’s something truly special about the region of Northern WI/UP

[@alec4672]

As someone who lives near Hurley Wisconsin, just a short walk to the UP describing it as "the middle of no where" I'd say is entirely accurate 😂😂

[@uphunter39]

Being a frequent visitor of the "rock cut" although I'm not a mechanical engineer, I can assure you, there is no chance a train could make it back up that grade, having grown up in the Skanee area, the original old timers told me the train ran once to the dock and couldnt make it back up the grade, dock is easy to find, just follow the slate river to the mouth

[@jdwusami]

I visited the Cutback in 2020 as a fun getaway from Traverse City. Beautiful area in the fall.

[@hexazalea1793]

8% isn't impossible for geared locomotives theyre built for torque and i've heard of a few doing 12

[@AndrewAMartin]

@@hexazalea1793 I've heard of Shays and Climaxes on logging railroads with those types of grades, but would they have been able to haul iron ore, and would they have been able to do it economically?

[@norml.hugh-mann]

@@hexazalea1793 they might be able to but not towing a load of ore cars

[@hexazalea1793]

@@norml.hugh-mann Geared lomoctives were frequently used for logging and mining Alterativley im pretty sure Mallets are able to handle that absurdity

[@cam1398]

I'm from the lower Mitten. Did some exploring in the U.P. this summer. So much untouched land and wild up there. Incredible to think that some of these towns were vastly more populated then, in late 1800's, than they are now. Many ghost towns and so much history along the mining corridors. Mining will have a new future in the U.P. this century, but I do hope the the vast majority is preserved for it's beauty.

[@stantaylor3350]

You should do a video of the smelting operation at Fayette on the Garden peninsula. The ore was mined at the Jackson mine in Marquette County then railed to Escanaba, then shipped to Fayette where it was made into pig iron, to be shipped to the steel mills on the lower great lakes. The state has been preserving the ghost town for over 60 yrs.

[@megmolkate]

A friend who grew up in the L’Anse Baraga area once told me there was talk of building a blast furnace on Keewenaw bay. The boats that hauled ore down could and did haul coal back up, to an extent it is done to this day.

[@miroadtrip]

This was great, Alexis! I have to imagine many old men told stories in the bar about helping build that railroad for no trains ever to use it. Thanks for sharing this!

[@AlexisDahl]

Ha ha, I can only imagine! On the way back from our failed excursion into the mountains, we did end up stopping at a local bar, and several people already had their own stories about the rock cut/their own opinions on the railroad. I'd have loved to be a fly on the wall a hundred years ago!

[@miroadtrip]

@@AlexisDahl The things we could learn! Maybe we’ll be able to someday with a time machine 😂 Again, really great video!

[@acsoosub]

IR&HB locomotives 301 & 302 went to the Algoma Central Railway in Ontario as ACR 25 & 26 in 1902

[@Watusifarm]

I moved from Utah to northern Wisconsin just to be closer to the UP and Lake Superior. I love this place and I love its story.

[@hoppes9658]

We don’t love you.Utah .

[@pauljohnson8528]

Thank you for this video. I used to work for the USFS on the Peshekee Grade and stopped by the Cut many times. This little corner of the world has a fascinating history.

[@vicbertfartingclack4559]

Great video - as always. This comment has nothing to do with this video, but I heard recently for the first time, about an ancient rock type known as Gowganda Tillite, a 2.4 billion year old conglomerate that can be found scattered around many areas in northern Michigan, including shorelines. It ties back to the snowball Earth glaciation. The more I read about this unique rock the more it fascinates me. Not that there is all that much to read on it. Anyway, just wondering if you’ve ever come across it.

[@AlexisDahl]

Thank you! Also, whoa, no, I hadn't heard of that. That sounds fascinating, though, and like there's so much to talk about there. I've added it to my list of ideas to look into!

[@Brunoinski]

My grandfather was a miner up there. He was in 2 cave ins and decided that was enough and moved down to SE Michigan

[@C.Schmidt]

Gosh I'm just stuck on how sisyphean making Summit Rock Cut probably would have felt... a YEAR of work, maybe just dying, and on top of that not even getting paid!

[@AlexisDahl]

Right? Goodness. And all to look back and realize... it was more or less for nothing - or at least, definitely not for its intended purpose. What an endeavor.

[@C.Schmidt]

@@AlexisDahl yeah I can't imagine they were very happy when all was said and done. But either way, it made for a very interesting video!

[@Omnifarious0]

It's interesting to me just how distinct the forests and the roads through them are in that general area. I could've told you that you were driving through the Midwest near the great lakes. Poplar and birch.

[@AlexisDahl]

I was struck by that, too, especially when I moved to the UP! The number of birch trees really jumped out at me.

[@caodesignworks2407]

@@AlexisDahl The UP's birch tree population really stands out considering a whole lot of the birch trees in the LP were decimated by blight through the 90's. They've been recovering though

[@zzzubmno2755]

Well done. I have a History degree and a Geography degree. I love regional history and learning about geography of different places. Your little stories are a nice combo of both. They are fun to watch, so I am now a subscriber. Keep those vids coming, I look forward to seeing them.

[@1.4142]

Sounds like the first time they tried to build the panama canal. Underrated channel.

[@timvb2]

I am a local from the area and had this been a sucess the area we live in would have been very urban and busy place.Kinda glad it did not happen.

[@ericharsvick7421]

We are lucky guys for sure.

[@Engineer1980]

Your enthusiasm is wonderful! That, coupled with your knowledge and love of Michigan history and geology, make your videos worth watching. Keep it up!

[@rorybellamy2533]

Now this is the history I have been waiting for, excellent thanks

[@AlexisDahl]

Thanks, Rory! I appreciate that.

[@charliekeene2003]

That's pretty cool. Bad for the workers, though, that went through all that for basically nothing, but still a part of the past that shouldn't be forgotten.

[@vincentfontana7915]

Nice work Alexis and Merry Christmas to you and your husband. I'm in a fb group who model Lake Superior O gauge railroads. For us fellas, Upper Peninsula railroads are where its all at. I've shared your web with a few of the fellas I think they'll dig your videos I know I always look forward to the next on. You make your videos fun to watch and you know how to hold people's attention job well done. Keep up the good work and again wish you and your family a Merry Christmas God Bless.

[@johnt6673]

This is my second video, she is such a cutie. Love her enthusiasm.

[@joshuamontgomery4992]

If you do Chapin mine make sure in research about the railroad from iron mountain to Escanaba. The owner of the mine and R.R. was a character. Last name slushinger.

[@glasseyemarduke3746]

2:48 the room where it happened lol reminds me of a good play

[@wesley5k]

Discovered you channel just yesterday and I'm hooked. We visited the Upper Peninsula this past summer and this adds so much more history and insight to many of the places we visited and some that we wish we had. Thank you for your research and delightful presentation.

[@JollyLamaCom]

Great vid! I live in Hancock and had no clue about this. Look forward to more of your videos

[@jenniferkatt7126]

This is so interesting! Lived in Michigan my entire life and love to see the history of our state! Good job!

[@joshuavissers9521]

Ha! Burt brought me there too, coincidentally. I recognized him before you intro'd him.

[@AlexisDahl]

Ha ha, that's wonderful. He's a great tour guide!

[@DavidSmith-fs4nt]

Every one of your shows to pop up on KZbin I've been watching. You do a great job researching and you have great enthusiasm.

[@megmolkate]

The boothill cemetery in Seney (south of town on the west side of CR 456) may make an interesting video.

[@Vanta_Blue]

Yay! New vid! And on an amusing topic too. I always enjoy hearing about how man's hubris made for silly projects.

[@Geobeck]

This is exactly the type of thing I love learning about ! awesome

[@AlexisDahl]

Shucks, thanks! I appreciate it!

[@davidbroschay3917]

Such unique and interesting land formations and stories on this area of our continent. The western U.P. is my favorite area to visit. Thank you for expanding my mind on this channel!!

[@marknorthrup4897]

The joy of your smile as well as the brilliance of your mind is encapturing (heh, if that isn't a real word then it should be). Well done! I learn so much each episode.

[@willkosmider2027]

I have very much enjoyed your video productions. I look forward to your continued video info in all of the interesting aspects of the Upper Peninsula. Thank you!

[@michiganprospectors]

Michigan has some of the best natural beauty in the World. For many years as I travelled the World, I dreamed of coming back to Michigan. Here I am once more in this amazing land.

[@robertfindley921]

Love these old stories. Keep it up!

[@nooneknows6060]

Nicely Done! Your vids are steady improving . I love the way you balance information and entertainment.

[@AlexisDahl]

Thank you! I really appreciate that.

[@jonlangford7622]

Cool story plus old rocks, thank you.

[@astrorad2000]

Great video and super enthusiasm! Thank you!

[@kentowens2179]

Nice video. You present yourself and the info very well, and have a pleasant voice. I enjoy listening to you and enjoy your subject matter. Thank you!

[@MustangsTrainsMowers]

Another video you could record is the the steam engine that they call Skookum. It was used on a logging railroad in the PNW until one day it went out of control down a grade and off of a curve. They tried to get it back on the tracks but it was took much for their limited resources. The railroad closed and the engine was left there before being partly dismantled and hauled out by a group I believe in the 1960’s. The owner had plans to restore it but he died. It changed ownership several times over the decades until it was finally restored to running about 2 years ago. I don’t remember it’s engine number.

[@MustangsTrainsMowers]

Deep River Logging #7.

[@monkeyearcheese420]

I love this area. Skanee (sp) is one of my favorite places on earth so far

[@nerdgarage]

It's Michigan --- EVERYWHERE is the middle of nowhere (especially in the UP).

[@joelb8653]

I live in a village no one knows exists and I'm only a half hour from the capital. Yes I live in Nashville, no it's not in Tennessee.

[@kevinthorrington2131]

I was born and raised a yooper. Don’t live in the UP now but visit during the summer. I was born in Grand Marais on south shore of Lake Superior. Great video!!!

[@stantaylor3350]

I worked with Peter Thorrington at the Tiden, he was from Grand Marais. Relative? If he is, tell him I say hi.

[@kevinthorrington2131]

@@stantaylor3350 Pete is the middle brother, I'm the youngest. I'm almost 60.

[@nickphillips2125]

Most interesting. Thank you, Ms. Dahl

[@hokyry111]

Wow. They tried so hard, and got so far! But in the end, it doesn’t even matter…

[@AlexisDahl]

If copyright restrictions weren't a thing, that song would have 100% gone in this video.

[@peacefulpossum2438]

😂😂😂

[@joewaun894]

I just found your channel this morning and man i love it awesome woman of science making great videos about Michigan being from Michigan. i really think our state is "slept on" its really a gorgeous state and i love your videos bringing attention to it

[@jamestnov41945]

Once again Alexis a fascinating episode.

[@merkin313]

you are an amazing story teller! I'm from Michigan and i love your channel!

[@randygyulay5114]

Another great piece of history.

[@Cedrus_]

i never learn about Michigan so i love how you talk about it as much as you do

[@medicmule]

Fascinating. Being from Southend Indiana, I have always loved the UP's outdoors. I never even heard of this track.

[@wendylarson2375]

As you introduced this story, I was thinking is that the Champion kibosh? Yup. Love your channel having grown up in Escanaba and graduating from Tech. I miss the U.P. I love your stories and have learned so much from your adventures. Thank you.

[@JulianOShea]

Great adventures and beautiful part of the world.

[@buckruttin2246]

Excellent work! So awesome to see the U.P. being showcased. Thank you and please keep it up.

[@moneycake1494]

The story I have been told is that the train actually left from Champion and fell into the Peshekee river swamp. The tracks went through few miles of swamp which I imagine was just as difficult to build on.

[@amberyooper]

Yes, building a stable roadbed across a swamp was always a tricky thing back in the old days. It took a lot of fill to make it solid enough for the weight of the trains.

[@arocker23]

This is a fascinating video!

[@timrev8]

Thank you!!

[@HandsWithLegs]

Woah, didn’t expect this to be about champion! That was my favorite rock hunting place in college! If you know exactly where to look you can find beautiful clusters of jet black schorl tourmaline in a really spectacular area!

[@skimusic3773]

Thank you! My late husband did land research and took me along to see the places he researched. You might look into the power structures here - we looked at "hidden" dams from long ago in some very cool spots.

[@sammythompson3694]

We have hidden dams here in NC started as mill ponds like the Great Dismal Swamp is a millpond . In the bible belt mill ponds can be seen from the sides of paved roads with a crumbling brick structure next to it. I'm old now and enjoyed this video too.

[@paulboring9053]

You are very good at this. Exceptional. 👍

[@GxAce]

Awesome channel! Keep up the good work. Michigan is the best place haha.

[@winterburden]

Thanks, that's so cool!

[@petersmafield3474]

I was 16 in 1962 I drove my mother from Port Huron in the Thumb of Michigan to the Upper Peninsula to Christmas, Michigan. I went swimming in Munising Bay with a large group of very large bowlders. Each was at least the size of two small trucks. It was a place where the local teenage kids went swimming and play away from adults. We stayed at the Knott Pine motel and bar and eat at the Christmas Inn that had a brown bear in a pen at the back. The bear was given honey-sweetened Kool-Aid by tourists in Pop bottles which he drank as a baby would. This helped pay for the expenses of the bear. For those who think the bear should have been released, you need to remember that it was found abandoned as a very small cub and would not have been able to fend for itself in the wild.

[@erbewayne6868]

I drove from port Huron thru Christmas to Houghton many times in late 60's and early 70's I remember a gale blowing off the lake with the westbound lane covered by 6 ft of snow.

[@amberyooper]

I obviously need to spend more time checking out the Huron mountains. I usually just go to the Keweenaw for my summer trips. I have to go to Brockway Mountain every summer. To me, it feels like a very spiritual place on top of Brockway. I guess I should check out the Huron mountains and see what that feels like.

[@AlexisDahl]

Brockway is gorgeous! I completely see why that's on your list. I'm definitely no expert in exploring the Huron Mountains, ha, but from what I learned, I'd highly recommend it.

[@mykabe]

UNDERRATED! Subbed

[@DaKnottyYooper]

These videos are wonderful!!! Yooper Approved!!!

[@BarfusWOW]

my wives uncle lives in northern ontario, when he expanded his house he ran into a chunk of the canadian shield.... needless to say .. he now has a house with a big rock in the basement (it's fucken massive). that stuff.. does not move easy.

[@JohnFrenchtheArtist]

County Road 607 in Marquette County is better known as the Peshekee grade. We've been on it dozens of times, but I never knew the historical foundation of this rough and winding road. Very cool!

[@elainebelzDetroit]

Michigan history can get pretty wild.

[@ronjon7942]

Ahhh, the Canyon Falls of the Sturgeon River - my favorite place on my favorite river! I was so happy to see it at the very end of this episode. I’m moving back home to Land o’ Lakes, WI, right on the border south of Watersmeet, from Tempe, Arizona. As much I love the desert, the dryness, and especially the heat, I’ve to return to where I grew up in order to help out my parents. I may have grown up in northern Wisconsin, but my heart is in the UP (well, and in Arizona), but I’m so looking forward to going back to my UP stomping grounds, I bought a couple white water kayaks to bring back with me, specifically, as it happens, to run Canyon Falls during the high waters of springtime.

[@jojobar5877]

She is very engaging and interesting. Great topics too. Subscribed

[@MstrCorrin]

You should come down to the Thumb area, we have a ton of quirky landscapes

[@johntmcdonough176]

my location on face book is ( In the middle of nowhere) and in all my travels I have found railroads abandon many grades and switches. Most of them are impassable to drive on but can be walked with care.

[@xPr1m3]

Super interesting. Another failed project that captures my interest is the Clinton-Kalamazoo canal (being from the area). It would be super cool to see a video about it.

[@richardmourdock2719]

This retired geologist, lover of the U P. and michigan-o-phile (except when they play my Buckeyes) greatly enjoys your posts. You do a great job drawing folks to the Michigan woods and waterways. Looking forward to my next motorcycle trip that way and will definitely check out the railroad.

[@robertharold2503]

Hurray for Michigan…full of interesting stories

[@jasonstevens2984]

Great story,

[@pme166]

It would be interesting to see the Logo and learn more about the engines and cars they planned on using the line. Also the turns and pathway of the line would tell us much about the feasibility of rail. Narrow gauge rails can thru some pretty tight turns and bends, but your pictures of the ties, seemed to indicate it was a conventional width railroad. Final question, was any of their grade used by the DMIR that came much later? DMIR is famous for the big Yellowstone locomotives, arguably the most powerful steam engines made (video suggestion by the way).

[@gsilcoful]

Very cool.

[@silverforest4682]

Maybe you could do a report on the Huron Mountain club? No roads that a regular person can use, only club members.

[@silverforest4682]

I should add that even we got to the end of the road, there was a guard box there with a guard. It would be interesting to know what they have in there

[@jerrymoran8323]

Find the Two volumes of Superior Heartland to learn about early years of HMC as well as their anonymous philanthropic activities. Like many private clubs they seek solace to escape the same things you might find in the surrounding wilderness experience.

[@gaziltapig]

Nice to see you getting out there, and doing nerd stuff like us! See you out there, maybe!

[@jacobquigley6309]

Was any part of this video near herman michigan? Just curious

[@PIcoAirBearings]

Reminds me of the SWLRT

[@treed5679]

I grew up in Southern MI I honestly had no clue about the Huron mountains.

[@bluekitty3731]

My great uncle had the family homestead in Baraga county, he made a fortune in logging and even during the depression would go to town everyday with twenty dollars in his pocket, the family lore has it that his fortune in gold coins is buried somewhere around the homestead!

[@berniemiller2992]

Remember that four out of five Great Lakes prefers Michigan!

[@RailPreserver2K]

I'm just curious if you've thought of coming down to Georgia because there's a ton of old railroads and structures here

[@kickseek]

Reminds me of the story of a railroad company in my hometown that went bankrupt before they'd finished building. One of the wooden bridges was dismantled and floated downriver to be cut into matchsticks!

[@Howard-ur2rj]

When I seen "Iron Range", got excited. But in Michigan !!?? Than i had to google some . Where i live is also the Iron Range, in Minnesota. Well , there is many "Iron Ranges", with 3 in Minnesota. At Hibbing ,Mn, I live in Mesabi Iron Range. Rich in history. Nevertheless, great vid and love the history. Thanks.

[@ericgolke9530]

Did you ever think of doing a episode on the Peshtigo fire?

[@joesmith1574]

Those side by side ATV’s are pretty cool, aren’t they?!

[@bobc8649]

There is a 90 page book on this. The Railroad that never ran by Robert Dobson. Lots of pictures and gps waypoints.

[@70stunes71]

Why I love Michigan 👍💪🌠