Sunday, September 6, 2009

Ashland ore dock






These are photos of the ore dock in Ashland, Wis. The 1,800-foot structure was last used in the mid-1960s and is to be torn down. It was built to load Great Lakes freighters with ore, which was sent down the chutes you see on its on side. It seems to be quite a landmark in Ashland -- but is such a structure worth saving? The railroad says it's dangerous. And is it a landmark of beauty?

Here are a couple of sites that give the background of this immense structure, one from a model railroading perspective and the other from a historical perspective. Here is a writeup by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

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