MINNESOTA MUSEUM OF MINING

CHISHOLM, MN

Credit: Lorie Shaull

The Minnesota Museum of Mining is located in Chisholm, Minnesota, and is dedicated to preserving the history of the Iron Range mining industry. The museum offers a variety of exhibits and interactive displays that showcase the tools, equipment, and techniques used to extract iron ore from the region's mines.

Visitors to the museum can explore a recreated miner's home and see firsthand the hardships and challenges faced by those who worked in the mines. The museum also features a large collection of mining equipment, including drills, shovels, and ore cars, as well as exhibits detailing the process of mining and refining iron ore.

In addition to its indoor exhibits, the Minnesota Museum of Mining also offers outdoor tours of the nearby Hill Annex Mine State Park, where visitors can see the remains of an abandoned iron mine and learn about the history of the industry.

Overall, the Minnesota Museum of Mining is a fascinating and educational destination for anyone interested in the history of the Iron Range mining industry, and is a must-visit for anyone traveling to the Chisholm area.

MINNESOTA MUSEUM OF MINING is a Uncategorized or General Museum in CHISHOLM MN. US MID #8402700306

The museum is classed as GMU (Uncategorized or General Museums). It comes under American Alliance of Museums (AAM) region: Midwest (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin). Total revenue from most recent IRS 990 Form: $ 78,135 from tax period 201212 (YYYYMM).

Smoking Sparta's Signals With this weeks forecast looking (and feeling) pretty damn hot, it's nice to look back a few months during the wintry period. When my buddy Jake and I ventured up to the ex-DMIR CN Iron Range, we were greeted with hefty amounts of snow and some fairly frigid temperatures at times. Although I'm from a state that sees its fair share of snow and low temps, I've found myself becoming pretty weak to them. Yet, as this weeks shapes up to be in the high 90s, humid, and I'll be stuck in a warehouse that only makes all that worse... I'm starting to wish for those cold temps back. For now. Back on the CN Iron Range sub, former CNW C40-8s power empty ore cars from Two Harbors to the taconite plants farther inland, and farther uphill. We'd shot all up and down the Iron Range and were getting tired of the drive, but we had the opportunity to nab a quick shot at Sparta, MN. Well, why not? A little stroke of luck - melting snow from slowly warming temperatures made a nice puddle to catch a reflection, while one of the old C40-8s started to really smoke it up. Man, they do look and sound good. It's a shame the C6Ms and GEVOs are starting to replace the power sets up there already. Man, I wish I had more time to shoot this place. And for non-extreme temperatures. Wishful thinking, I suppose.
Farewell Fairlane The wait was long, but when I remoted into ATCS and saw Fairlane start flashing green to request access south, I knew we had timed things very right. The sun was beginning to dip ever closer towards the horizon and granting us our first bit of golden light as CN U717 led by BLE909 / IC6260 / DMIR408 began to depart Fairlane. The taconite was as fresh as can be, steaming away happily as the orange leader led into golden light. Truly, how much more perfect could it get? This was our final train of the day, our first full day on the range, and we had the opportunity to do some southbound pacing thanks to the sun setting before long. That was our main goal, so a simple wedge right at the crossing outside the plant was all we got. Looking back, we certainly could have gotten a fine curve shot just a touch to our west, but we wanted to be in the position to pace quickly and didn't want to miss anything. You live and learn. I have a good chunk of range content to go, but I think I'll keep it tucked away for later. I'm hoping to return to the range this summer if I'm lucky, so maybe I can snag some more golden power and light together! Or I can get that damn white silled SD40 leading in the day. Maybe. Anyway, off to another adventure...
Human After All Upon following a loaded tac train along the Iron Range sub for a little while, we found ourselves meeting a westbound train around Biwabik. What we found was not the Dash 8 trio we expected, but the DMIR409/400 leading the MRF back to Keenan yard! Naturally, we chased them back to Iron Junction, but with earlier experience doing some pacing, we knew we could pace at Ramshaw - the diamond where the Rainy sub and Iron Range subs cross just outside of the junction. We got many waves on our trip to the range, but the MRF was definitely the best of the bunch in that regard. Plenty of waves and peace signs alike from a friendly conductor on the DMIR409, an ex-SSW SD45T-2 rebuilt as an SD40-3, but the highlight was back at the junction itself, where this train had to stop. While standing atop the snow pile created by a plow, the conductor here hopped off the locomotive and came to have a brief chat with us. Talking about the motive power up there (and how clapped all of it is), rail traffic, and even the Northshore Mining railroad (they're running again!). Of course, once a T-Bird went past, he had to return to the cab and take the train into Keenan Yard. Still, that brief five minutes or so was a nice surprise. It's always nice to have a positive interaction with railroaders in a hobby full of toxicity and a myriad of problem-people who cause trouble for the rest of us. There is often a divide between the people in the cab and those of us trackside - it is pretty weird to be taking photos of people working, in total fairness - but interactions like these are a great reminder that we are all human and not all that different. At least I think anyways. We didn't catch the name of the conductor unfortunately, but we wish we had! Would have been nice to send over a photo or two for sure. Ahh, well.
Stumbling Into Position Our second day on the range, it was pretty clear we needed to hang out around Iron Junction. As the central connector between the Missabe, Iron Range, and Rainy (DWP) subs, it was bound to be a busy place - and it was! After shooting some southbounds closer to Proctor, we ventured north and nabbed a myriad of traffic, including some local freights in okay-ish-light, and learning about how deep and strong the snow was. Not long after arriving at the large wye that is the junction, ATCS showed dispatch lining a T-Bird out of, get this, CP T-Bird. Bound for Fairlane, we had ourselves a little train to nab. I'm not exactly the most steady or agile person on a good day, but when you put snow into the mix, I'm a hot mess. I quickly learned the value of snow shoes (and probably weight loss, to be really honest) as my lack of them led to my sinking into snowbanks rather easily. It took stumbling across a tall barrier made of heavily packed snow to get into position to snag CN2112 come through West Wye and through Iron Jct. The C40-8 was given a special paintjob, faintly visible here, along with sister 2107. They both wear the CN colours, but their long hood has a special 15-years-of-privitization design drawn across it. A nice surprise to catch that leading for sure! T-Birds, like the one led by CN2112 here, are an important piece of the taconite puzzle up here. They bring the raw taconite, fresh from the mines, to the taconite plant. There, limestone and bentonite clay and a liberal application of heat - among other things, no doubt - will be used to refine the raw taconite into the little pellets that the railroad will later haul to the docks to be loaded into Great Lakes freighters. No T-Birds, no tac trains!

Contact MINNESOTA MUSEUM OF MINING

MINNESOTA MUSEUM OF MINING
PO BOX 271
CHISHOLM
MN
55719-0271

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MINNESOTA MUSEUM OF MINING Information

MID # 8402700306
Name MINNESOTA MUSEUM OF MINING
Alternate Name
Classification Uncategorized or General Museums, , Midwest
Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) 410773295
NTEECC A50
Tax period of the latest return filed (YYYYMM) 201212
INCOME 81,160
REVENUE 78,135
LAT/LONG 47.499679, -92.887136
CODES FIPS State Code: 27
FIPS County Code: 137
US Census Tract: 012600
US Census Block: 1008