Ishpeming
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Current State of Construction

 The village of Ishpeming was incorporated in 1869 and had previously been known as the Lake Superior Location, taking its name from the Lake Superior mine.  The village existed almost exclusively for support of the mining of iron ore from the Marquette Iron Range which had been discovered in 1844.  By 1882 there were six mines and one blast furnace within Ishpeming and another nine mines near the village.  At the time its iron ore deposits would seem inexhaustible but by 1960 the only mine within Ishpeming was the Cliffs Shaft mine.  By 1960 there were three railroads in Ishpeming involved in transporting ore from the Marquette Iron Range.  The Chicago & Northwestern Railway (C&NW) transported ore south to the Lake Michigan port of Escanaba, MI where they had a pocket ore dock.  This allowed ore ships to bypass the Soo Locks and the ships had a longer shipping season.  The Duluth, South Shore, and Atlantic Railway (DSS&A) shipped its ore to Marquette where it also had a pocket ore dock.  Both of these railroads are incorporated into the modeling of Ishpeming on our own Superior Northern.  The third railroad in Ishpeming was the Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad (LS&I) which was started primarily to compete with the DSS&A.  It also had its own pocket loading dock near Marquette.  The LS&I in Ishpeming is not modeled on the Superior Northern but does show up in the Munising area.  LS&I rolling stock and locomotive power may appear on the Superior Northern due to leasing arrangements.

End Goal (pictures from original Superior Northern)

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