Duluth and Iron Range Railway Ore Dock No. 6 - Two Harbors, Minnesota
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 47° 00.862 W 091° 39.928
15T E 601430 N 5207624
Quick Description: Historic ore dock located on Agate Bay in Two Harbors, Minnesota.
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 12/8/2007 8:24:04 AM
Waymark Code: WM2QJ0
Views: 125
Long Description:Dock No. 6 was constructed from 1907-1909 and was the first steel
ore dock built on the Great Lakes. The dock was designed by the
American Bridge Company and constructed by the Barnett & Record
Company. The dock was a vital link for the rich iron mines in
northern Minnesota. The dock is located at the terminus of the
Duluth & Iron Range Railway line (later Duluth, Missabe, and
Iron Range Railway).
The dock is 962' long, 51' wide and 74' high. The dock has 148
pockets with ship loading spouts along each side. Ore loaded into
vessels through mechanically operated trapdoors at the bottom of
the pockets flowing by gravity through the openings. The pockets
were filled by railroad hopper ore cars from the four tracks on the
dock. These four tracks were connected with two tracks on the
approach trestles connected to the railroad yard. The capacity of
each pocket is 300 tons thus yielding a total storage capacity of
44,440 tons.
The dock is no longer in use and the connecting trestles were
removed in 1978. The two near by docks are operational though only
dock number two is used because it has been modified to accommodate
Taconite pellets.
Note: The coordinates listed above are across the bay at the
historical marker for the ore docks. The docks are not accessible
and the best view point of all three docks is from across the bay
by the marker or from the end of the east breakwater in good
weather.