North Shore Scenic Railroad 2024

2024 SOUVENIR RAIL GUIDE

The Golden Age of Railroading isn’t just remembered, it’s back again!

All Aboard! Welcome!

FRONT COVER: DM&IR #193 pulls a Duluth Zephyr train along the shore of Lake Superior below Duluth’s famous Rose Garden. There are over 3,000 roses and more than 12,000 non-rose plantings in the garden, which is built around a fountain and gazebo with Lake Superior as the backdrop. The original Rose Garden was started in 1965 by Mrs. John Klintz to remind her of the gardens she grew up with in Latvia. The newer garden sits atop a freeway tunnel that was

By Ken Buehler Executive Director/General Manager

Welcome on board the North Shore Scenic Railroad. Thank you for choosing to ride with us today. Your journey is one of history, beauty and enjoyment. We will do everything we can to ensure your time with us is SAFE and wonderfully memorable.

The history of this line dates back to 1886 when the Duluth & Iron Range Railway needed to complete its tracks from Two Harbors to Duluth. That was to satisfy the terms of its original land grant that financed the building of the D&IR from Two Harbors up to the first iron ore mine in Minnesota on Lake Vermillion.

The North Shore Scenic is run by the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. Using engines and cars from the collection recreates the Golden Age of Railroading. If you haven’t already done so, we suggest a COMBO ticket to tour the museum so you can SEE the Trains and RIDE the Trains. Museum admission is discounted with your train ticket.

There are several new exhibits this year. The automatic signal display demonstrates the safety improvements that lighted, trackside signaling brought to the railroads. Inside the newly refreshed DM&IR History Car #19 (located on Track #2) you’ll learn about the D&IR and its sister railroad the Duluth, Missabe & Northern. The DM&N was also an iron ore railroad.

What makes the railroad and museum special are the volunteers who run the trains, restore the artifacts, build new exhibits and service the rolling stock. We thank our volunteers every chance we get because without them none of this great experience would be possible. You can help us by saying Thank You to these incredible men and women who enjoy sharing their love of railroading with you.

RIGHT: The William A. Crooks steam engine was the very first train in Minnesota. It was transported up the Mississippi River on a barge in 1861 and went into revenue service on the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad on July 28, 1862. The railroad quickly went into receivership and was purchased by a group of entrepreneurs led by James J. Hill, the Empire Builder. Hill’s first engine on what would become the Great Northern RR, today’s BNSF, was the Crooks and that’s the reason it survives today. It is one of eight steam locomotives in the collection of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum.

built in 1994. Touring the garden is free.

Photo by Dave Schauer used with permission

Bruce Mine headframe: Last one standing

By Ken Buehler

What the DM&N and D&IR were built for was to haul ore from mines on the Missabe and Vermillion iron ranges. In the early days of mining structures like the Bruce Mine headframe dotted the landscape. Headframes are the lifting platforms that were like elevators. Everything in and out of the mine came up or down through the headframe. Workers, materials and equipment went down the shaft and iron ore returned up through the same shaft.

This is the last remaining headframe on the Missabe. It’s from the Bruce Mine and is located along highway 169 near Chisholm. The mine produced an average of 200,000 tons of hematite a year from 1926 until 1938. Today the

headframe is preserved as a park along with two 70-ton capacity ore cars that are like those used to haul the rich, red earth from the headframe to the docks in Duluth and Two Harbors.

Working with the Canadian National Railroad, today’s owner of the D&IR and DM&N (DM&IR), the two cars seen here were preserved through efforts of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum.

The last one standing: The Bruce Mine headframe and train cars are seen during construction of the Bruce Mine Park & Trailhead. Once a common sight in Northeastern Minnesota, underground mining was replaced by today’s mammoth open pit mines. Photo courtesy of the City of Chisholm

Radio & TV Sing-a-longs

By Ken Buehler

Sing along with me and complete each verse.

Oh, you’ll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with………

See the U-S-A in your……

The best part of wakin’ up is……..in your cup!

The power of advertising. While Folgers still uses their catchy tune to this day, Pepsodent discontinued singing out its praises in 1974. The last time Chevy sang their tune was in a 2011 Super Bowl ad. They’re called jingles and they do sell products.

Barry Manilow (“Mandy” and “I Write the Songs”) wrote jingles before he made Top 10 hits. “You deserve a break today” for McDonald’s – Barry Manilow.

“Stuck on Band Aid” – Barry too. And “Like a good neighbor. State Farm is there” was also one of his. State Farm still uses its 1971 Manilow tune for which they paid Barry all of $500.

One of the best definitions of advertising is that it’s problem solving. Surplus inventory? Advertise a sale. Need people to get off the freeway to a train ride, buy a Billboard that says; “Turn Here for Train.” Single? Use eharmony.

The Washburn Crosby Company, an early Minneapolis miller, now known as General Mills, had a problem. Famous for its Gold Medal flour, the company dominated the industry. That was because, like Mr. Pillsbury, Mr. Washburn and Mr. Crosby had harnessed the cascading water of St. Anthony Falls to produce cheap energy to run their mills. But later, with the widespread use of electricity, anyone, anywhere could get into the mass production of processed grains.

Then came another change that threatened to steal the gold from Gold Metal Flour. By the 1920s, as the nation grew more health conscious, people wanted more fiber in their diet and breakfast cereal began growing in popularity.

Dr. Kellogg and C.W. Post had a dramatic head start in the cold cereal market with Corn Flakes and Grape Nuts. Doused in milk and sugar, these inexpensive substitutes for meat and eggs were becoming ever more common on America’s breakfast tables. Washburn Crosby didn’t have a box top in the game.

An accident, when wheat gruel dropped on a hot stove, led to a wheat flake of sorts and the hunt was on to turn the unexpected discovery into a cereal. Washburn Crosby experiment-

Invented by accident and made famous by the first ever singing jingle on radio, Wheaties became the Breakfast of Champions. (General Mills archives/ MNpedia, used with permission)

RADIO & TV continued on PAGE 5

ed with the process starting in 1923 at a plant in Chicago. They tested 36 different varieties of wheat combinations before deciding on one that combined cracked wheat kernels with malt syrup, sugar and salt. Borrowing on Washburn Crosby’s famous brand name, they called the product Gold Medal Wheat Flakes.

They sold like soggy, cold cereal. Washburn Crosby had a problem.

Today we call part of the solution rebranding. Back then they just changed the name. A companywide contest to rename Gold Medal Wheat Flakes was won by an employee’s wife who came up with Wheaties. Sales slogans promoted the cereal’s claims of “proper digestion” and “whole wheat flakes.” Still sales were mush.

That all changed on Christmas Eve in 1926. Washburn Crosby Company owned a radio station in Minneapolis that they named after themselves; Washburn Crosby Company, WCCO. The airwaves were filled with programs

sponsored by the various products milled out along the river. To try and improve the sales of Wheaties the company hired a Minneapolis barbershop quartet to sing the very first commercial jingle…

Have you tried Wheaties?

It’s whole wheat without the bran.

Radio worked. Singing jingles worked and soon the quartet was harmonizing the glories of Wheaties nationwide. The singing jingles first heard locally on Christmas Eve on WCCO were now sponsoring network radio programs such as Jack Armstrong, the All American Boy and The Lone Ranger. In 1941 Wheaties was the “Breakfast of Champions” and had a 12 percent market share of breakfast cereals.

So what was the local program broadcast on Christmas Eve 1926 on

WCCO in Minneapolis that contained the world’s very first commercial to feature a singing jingle? It was a weekly radio show called the Gold Medal Fast Freight and to fit with the freight train theme of the program the new Wheaties Quartet dressed as railroad engineers.

And the final chorus here is…..as always…..if you work it hard enough it all comes back to the railroad.

By Josh Miller

First class under the glass

paying just a little more for a unique experience.

The golden age of railroading isn’t just remembered here… its back again!

The railroads have a long history of delivering a first-class experience for their passengers. Throughout the generations, guests have been treated to fine dining, deluxe sleeping accommodations, and exquisite service. At the North Shore Scenic Railroad, I’m proud that we can offer at least a small taste of this legacy from the golden-age, first class experiences.

We are excited to be offering first class service options on almost all of our trains this summer. This includes our Dome Car seating, lounge space, fine dining experiences, and some extra service options for those interested in

Later in August, guests can ride “first class” on the evening train, and have a fine dining four-course meal prepared by the best chefs Duluth has to offer, all while enjoying moving scenery out the window. The Elegant Dinner Train runs Fridays and Saturdays throughout late summer into fall, and gives guests a unique dining experience found nowhere else in the Twin Ports.

These are just a few of many options for excursions on our railroad that make it a truly unique attraction here in Duluth. We hope you will come back later this year or in the years to come and try one of our many excursion options.

Rolling out the red carpet

By Ken Buehler

When important people go to important places they roll out the red carpet. Think Oscars…Flash….movie stars….. Flash….paparazzi…. Flash….celebrities….Flash.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has the most famous, signature red carpet. They adopted it on April 17, 1961, rolled out in front of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in California. Bob Texaco Hope was the Master of Ceremonies at the Oscars that year. “The Apartment” won Best Picture and it was the last black and white movie to win until “Schindler’s List” in 1993.

The Academy got the new entryway idea from another famous red carpet that started in 1902. The place was New York City’s Grand Central Station. A huge labyrinth of tunnels, platforms and tracks made it difficult to stand out and for passengers to find their way to the right train. That was a

problem the New York Central Railroad hoped would solve for the kind of premium passengers they wanted to ride their new flagship train the 20th Century Limited.

The 20th Century Limited was an all first class, overnight express train between New York and Chicago. It made few stops, scooped up water from pans between the rails to save time and catered to upper class celebrities and business travelers.

To make sure these express passengers had a way to find their train and know they were special, the New York Central was the first to roll out the red carpet. This special crimson walkway led right down the platform from the waiting area to the open vestibules in what became known as Red Carpet Treatment.

And once again, if you work it hard enough….it all comes back to the Railroad.

By Ken Buehler

The most recognized little blue steam locomotive known the world as Thomas the Tank Engine is returning to the North Shore Scenic Railroad in August. A Day Out With Thomas is happening on the first two weekends of August (Aug. 2-4 and 9-11). The fun takes place in Two Harbors, near Duluth, in front of the depot used by the North Shore Scenic Railroad.

Thomas will give rides to all his friends, and Sir Topham Hatt will be on hand to make sure everything runs smoothly. That includes several bounce houses, games, live entertainment, a magic show and the “All Things Thomas” gift shop. New this year is the Bubble Zone. The setting in Two Harbors is a perfect family friendly location nestled between the

Thomas is back!

depot and Paul Van Hoven Park on the shore of Lake Superior.

Tickets and more information about visiting with Thomas in Two Harbors this August is at www.duluthtrains. com.

Paul Van Hoven Park

Two Harbors, MN

Mr. Van Hoven, the park’s namesake, was president of the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railroad when the area for the park was created. By moving the former offices of DM&IR predecessor the Duluth & Iron Range and the Lakeview Hotel, a waterfront opening was created and turned into a park. The two buildings were relocated off the waterfront and moved slightly inland. The park’s star attraction is the Edna G. (See related story on page 12.)

The magic of the Holiday Season rides on the Christmas City Express

Trains run from the Depot NOVEMBER 29DECEMBER 22

It’s the story of a young girl traveling by train to visit her grandparents in Duluth on Christmas Eve. The story is performed in the Railroad Museum at the Depot starting with live music and carolers against a backdrop of decorated trains and storefronts. Then take a train ride past the lights of Bentleyville and along the edge of Lake Superior with hot cocoa and cookies.

A special guest will visit and have a magical gift for every passenger!

Chosen one of the “BEST Christmas Train Rides in America” by MSN www.duluthtrains.com for tickets or call 800-423-1273

Photo courtesy of Josh Miller and Dave Schauer

Logging Camp

•

Not the movie by almost the same name North by Northshore

By Ken Buehler

In the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock classic “North by Northwest,” Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason travel the country in this suspense filled spy drama, starting by train on the 20th Century Limited. The movie has them going from New York City to Chicago to Mt. Rushmore. The famous crop duster scene was filmed outside of Bakersfield, Calif. playing the part of Highway

Scenic Drive

Knife River, MN

41 in downstate Indiana — even though the road signs are the wrong shape for Indiana.

You are the star today in our version of this action packed movie traveling on the North Shore Scenic Railroad in “North by Northshore.”

There’s a slight difference between the two stations. But the intended results are the same. Roger Thornill (Cary Grant) is getting on a train in New York City’s Grand Central Station and you are in Duluth. Unfortunately for him, Thornhill has just been mistaken for a government agent and is being followed by ruthless spies. You might want to check over your shoulder.

One of the movie’s opening scenes is Grand Central Station in New York as the 20th Century Limited is departing from its red carpeted platform. Your opening scene is on track #1 at the historic Union Depot in downtown Duluth boarding the North Shore Scenic Railroad’s Duluth Zephyr.

omance on the Rails. As the train travels through the night between New York and Chicago, Grant meets the beautiful and mysterious Eve Kendal (Eva Marie Saint) for dinner in the diner. Our diners enjoy the Art Deco Lake of the Isles dining car.

The train sequences for “North by Northwest” were all shot on a soundstage in Hollywood. The magic of the movies. While they did shoot some scenes from the vestibule of a moving train, interior quarters are a little too tight for filming.

On the North Shore Scenic Railroad, you can have dinner in an authentic dining car aboard one of our elegant dinner trains. The railroad museum’s Lake of the Isles dining car is from the same era as the one portrayed in the movie.

The good news is nothing like this will ever happen to you in “North by Northshore.” Nor will you have to climb the faces on Mt. Rushmore. But we do have great scenery along our tracks.

Sleep in a train boxcar!

Made out of authentic train boxcars renovated into lovely guest accommodations, the Northern Rail Traincar Inn is nestled in the wilderness, just 3 miles north of Two Harbors.

“One of the World’s 10 Most Unusual Hotels”

~ Peter Greenberg

Free Wi-Fi

Unlimited DVD usage from over 800 titles

Alfred Hitchcock only made one movie for MGM and “North by Northwest” was it. But in almost every movie he ever directed Hitchcock would slip in a personal cameo. In “Strangers on a Train,” we catch him boarding the train carrying a large, double base in an instrument case. In “Birds,” Hitchcock walks out of a pet store just as Tippy Hedren enters.

In “North by Northwest” he misses a bus in New York City.

We hope you enjoy your “North by Northshore” adventure. Thank you for riding with us.

Cut! That’s a wrap.

I’m the executive “director” of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum so I guess this is my cameo.

Two Harbors railroad history — on the water

By Ken Buehler

Your ride with us today might be on the Duluth Zephyr or maybe the Pizza Party Express. But the North Shore Scenic Railroad also runs the entire 30-mile length of our mainline to Two Harbors, a railroad town on the shore of Lake Superior. The Two Harbors Turn is an all-day excursion with a two-hour layover for lunch at one of many charming restaurants.

The town holds a very rare and unique piece of railroad history that didn’t ride the rails but floated on the water.

Two Harbors originally consisted of two small communities located one each on Agate Bay and Burlington Bay. The latter was just called Burlington and dates back to its incorporation in 1857. It had a post office and a number of homes and businesses. A short distance further down the shore was Agate Bay. It’s first recorded resident homesteaded there in

1857. His name was John Sexton.

In 1883 Agate Bay became the starting point for the Duluth & Iron Range Railroad. A rough and wild construction camp for the workers building the line from the shore of Lake Superior up to Minnesota’s first iron ore mine in Tower/ Sudan. Like the legionary Hell on Wheels that followed the construction crews on the Union Pacific Railroad as they built the Transcontinental Railroad, Two Harbors had Whiskey Row. It was said its sole purpose was “relieving a man of his money.”

After the completion of the railroad in 1884, the Village of Two Harbors was finally incorporated in 1888. Burlington faded and Two Harbors flourished.

The community is still a railroad town with a vibrant and growing tourism

Outfitted more lavishly than other working vessels, the Captain of the Edna G and his guests sailed in comfort. The boat had its own on board cook. Photo courtesy of Ships Survey 1968

TWO HARBORS continued on PAGE 13

Now a floating museum, the Edna G. is docked at the base of Paul Van Hoven Park in Two Harbors. PPhoto courtesy of Museumships

continued from PAGE 12

industry. Two Harbors also has a maritime history and holds an artifact that is the last of its kind anywhere on the Great Lakes.

The original D&IR ore docks were mammoth structures that moored coal fired ships called Lakers that were loaded with ore from train cars that traveled on top of the dock and were pulled by wood and coal burning locomotives. This fiery combination was a problem because the earliest docks were made of wood. To protect their investment, the railroad purchased fire-fighting tugboats.

The D&IR’s original wood tug was built in 1881. The 42-foot Ella G. Stone was named after the daughter of the railroad’s first president George Stone. She was replaced by the 154-foot steel tug Edna G. in 1896. She was also named after the daughter of another of the road’s presidents. There were two other tugs in the navy the William A. McGonagle and the aptly named Torrent.

The Edna G. produced 1000hp the hard way. Her boilers were hand stoked. A fireman fueled the beast with several tons of coal an hour using nothing but a well-worn shovel.

Like her shipmates, the G. was used to dock freighters, rescue ships in distress and, with her huge water cannon, fight dockside fires. The Edna G. was also somewhat of a cruise boat. Her lavish interior features polished birch paneling and brass fittings. The crew included a cook and living quarters for four to five passengers.

On December 30, 1980 Captain Adolph Ojard docked the Edna G. for the final time. The last remaining hand-fired, steam powered tugboat on the Great Lakes is now a museum ship docked just a short walk from the train station in Two Harbors — a piece of floating railroad history.

Duluth’s Playfront Park is located between Michigan Street and the Great Lakes Aquarium right across from the railroad tracks you’re riding on. This children’s playground was a gift to the city by the Junior League. It features giant climbing structures that enhance a child’s balance, coordination and strength. It’s also FUN and FREE.

Enger Tower is like a giant Stairmaster in the sky. It’s located just off Skyline Boulevard overlooking Duluth. There are 105 steps inside the 80-foot tower. The view from the top is spectacular. The stone tower was built in 1939 on land donated to the city by Bert Enger, a successful furniture store owner. Climbing the tower and touring the park are FREE.

Take a hike! Duluth has many nature trails and depending on the age of your youngsters here are a couple of suggestions:

• An easy 34-minute walk along Tischer Creek through Congdon Park features

Duluth tourism for kiddos

bridges and small waterfalls. Best entry point is North 33rd Avenue East. The land was donated to the city in 1908 by Chester Congdon as he was building his Glensheen estate.

• An easy 50-minute walk along the St. Louis River, Waabizheshikana Trail is the new name of the Western Waterfront Trail. It means Martin in Anishinaabe and honors the Martin Clan who settled this part of the river. This trail is paved and perfect for strollers. Best entry point is 7300 Grand Avenue. A shorter hike can be had entering off Pulaski Street.

• Of course there’s Duluth’s premier Lakewalk along the water’s edge of Lake Superior. There are multiple entry points for this paved trail. Lake access is available at multiple locations. The best places for skipping stones are at the “corner of the lake” and behind Fitgers.

What do you call a locomotive that keeps sneezing? AhChoo Choo Train

DAD TRAIN JOKES THE DREADED MATH WORD PROBLEM

A conductor was asked how many times his train derailed. He said it was hard to keep track.

How do locomotive hear? They have Engin-eers

How do you find a missing train? Follow its tracks

Did you hear about the newspaper reporter who quit his job and left town in a hurry? He took an Ex-Press Train

You never see happy railroad tracks because so many people have crossed them.

Fargo, North Dakota is 250 miles from Minneapolis. If an Amtrak passenger train leaves Fargo at 1 p.m. and goes a constant speed of 60 miles an hour with a 15-minute stop in Staples, and another Amtrak passenger train leaves Minneapolis at 2 p.m. and goes a constant speed of 50 miles an hour, with a 5-minute stop at St. Cloud, when will the two trains meet in Brainerd?

ANSWER: Nobody cares. Amtrak passenger trains don’t go to Brainerd.

Shore Scenic Railroad

Crossword Train Puzzle

Unscramble the letters to answer the clue

ACROSS

1. It’s at the end of the train. BOOCASE

2. Trains pass each other on a ______. NGIIDS

3. Railroad ______. SCRAKT

4. A type of freight car with loading doors on the side. CXOBAR

5. The train car you are riding in is called a _____. CHCAO

6. Famous blue engine coming here in August. TSAMOH

DOWN

1. The person who took your ticket. ROCUDOCTN

2. To change tracks a train goes through a ______. TCHWIS

3. To stop the train, the engineer puts on the ______. SKEABR

4. An engineer wears one of these around their neck. FHRKECE

5. The fireman puts coal in the boiler with a ______. VOHSEL

CastleDanger SplitRock