Escanaba & Lake Superior

Company History: The E&LS was built in 1898 to link the harbor of Escanaba to a connection with the Milwaukee Road in Channing in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The mileage during this first period was about 68.

The E&LS dieselized with an all Baldwin fleet and the road would remain all-Baldwin until the expansion in 1980. That year, Milwaukee Road was in the process of spinning off lines left and right so the Escanaba & Lake Superior leased routes from Channing northwest to Ontonogon near the Minnesota border, and from Channing south to Green Bay, Wisconsin giving the system map a lopsided T shape. At this point the mileage was up to 325 miles. Four years later, E&LS bought those lines from Milwaukee Road (which was being sold to Soo at the time.) Secondhand EMD’s were brought in to help the aging fleet of Baldwins. By 1991, half the fleet was EMD and the other half Baldwin. In the last few years, E&LS obtained trackage rights on Canadian National to shorten the route for traffic between Escanaba and Green Bay.

The Baldwin fleet included the two former Delaware & Hudson RF16A shark nose units that had been railfan favorites in the Northeast in the 70s. Both sharks are still on the property but are stored out of sight. In the last couple of decades, E&LS had trouble with people stealing parts such as bells and builder plates from their increasingly rare Baldwins. This has made E&LS hostile to railfans so if you find yourself in this neck of the woods, stay well clear of E&LS property.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.