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iron ore sale and purchase agreement with Essar Algoma. The termination was a result of Cliffs’ claim that Essar Algoma had multiple breaches under the agreement. Upon being notified of the termination, Essar Algoma filed a restraining order to keep the supply of pellets flowing to its mill at Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. The steel mill receives iron ore pellets from Cliffs’ Tilden mine on the Marquette Range by way of all-rail trains delivered by CN as well as by lake boats loaded at LS&I’s Marquette, Mich., ore dock. The loss of this traffic would deal a severe blow to LS&I and Tilden mine. Eventually Essar will sup- ply its Algoma mill with pellets from a new mine under development near Nashwauk in Minnesota that is expected to begin production in late 2016.
REGIONALS/SHORTLINES WEST GARLAND MCKEE
Dakota Southern Expansion
In early October, Railworks Tracks System had started replacing rail on Dakota Southern’s Mitchell-Rapid City (MRC) Line west of Reliance, S.D. Meanwhile bridge work continues between Chamberlain, S.D., and Reliance. This is part of the $37 million MRC west end reconstruction project. As of the end of September, 40 percent of the work on the 62-year old Missouri River bridge had been completed. The work involves replacing all the wood on the bridge to allow 136-pound rail to be installed and allow the use of heavier freight cars. The bridge upgrades on the 42.4-mile stretch of track are being
done by Koppers Railroad Structures of Madison, Wis. Meanwhile, the other bridges are getting new caps, stringers, and ties. While this is going on, many of the concrete culverts have collapsed and are being repaired by a local company out of Reliance using steel corrugated liners. While the Missouri River Bridge will have continuous welded rail, the rest of the line will be new (or used) jointed rail. The goal is to have the line open to Kennebec by September 1, 2016, and to Presho by December 31, 2016. The line west of Presho, to Draper and Murdo, still needs to be funded if service is ever restored. The trackage currently extends as far west as Kadoka. The improvements have spurred the Kennebec elevator to increase its size, and it is currently pouring new concrete silos. Once started, the pour is continuous using slip forms to move up the silo walls until the sides are complete. There is an on-site batch plant making concrete. Meanwhile, after ten years, the South Dakota State Railroad Board has picked Dakota Southern to operate the Napa- Platte Branch. The line hasn’t seen service in several years. A proposed ethanol plant had been trying to get off the ground for several years. The state gave Dakota Southern a 60-day lease effective September 21 while it works out a 20-year contract. The decision paves the way for a $35
million grain elevator complex and rail hub planned by Dakota Plains Ag Center to be constructed on 27 acres in northern Yankton County. The site is part of a proposed 196-acre industrial park on which Dakota Plains and Dakota Southern have agreed to be partners. The line came into state’s possession
after the Milwaukee Road bankruptcy in the late 1970s. And although it runs through a productive agricultural area, it hasn’t seen regular rail service in a number of years. The selection of Dakota Southern to become leaseholder on the Napa-Platte line ends a relationship of more than 30 years between the state board and the Napa-Platte regional rail authority. Dakota Southern has held the sublease from the regional authority, but the authority’s leadership soured on Dakota Southern in recent years. The regional authority opposed Dakota Southern’s proposal but lost in the competition. The authority submitted a proposal and also supported a separate proposal from Ralph Marquardt of Yankton. Marquardt, a member of the state transportation commission, runs a trucking business based in Yankton and Sioux Falls and has a grain elevator at Tabor along the Napa-Platte line. Dakota Southern hopes to have service
to Marquardt’s elevator within 30 days. Williams said he’s recently surveyed much of the line and believes he can have the track to Tabor open in 30 days. Dakota Southern plans to operate the line between Napa and Tabor and use the line between Tabor and Tyndall for storage of rail cars. They plan to take out the line from Ravinia to Platte. Founded in 1985, the Dakota Southern Railway operates 190 miles Kadoka and Mitchell, S.D., where it interchanges with BNSF Railway.
Delta Southern
It appears that Continental Rail Corporation has purchased the Delta
Tribute at America’s Central Port
Illinois Terminal
Port Harbor Railroad owner Terry Respondek has paid tribute to his former employer, the old Illinois Terminal Railroad. GP40 No. 2302 (originally built for Milwaukee Road in 1968 as No. 2064) is the latest heritage repaint serving America’s Central Port in Granite City, Ill., on October 5, 2015. The Illinois Terminal lettering was a temporary addition. Repondek Railroad Corp. has been providing switching services for the port since 2004.
PHOTO BY MARK MAUTNER
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