Cramer Tunnel Explained

Status:Abandoned
Coordinates:47.5367°N -91.0782°W
Opened:1957
Closed:2008
Length:1,800 feet
Notrack:Single

Cramer Tunnel is a disused railroad tunnel near Cramer, Minnesota. It is the longest railway tunnel in Minnesota.

History

Cramer Tunnel opened in 1957 after LTV Steel blasted a tunnel to connect Hoyt Lakes taconite plant and the location of its ore dock at Taconite Harbor on Lake Superior, from which the taconite was shipped to eastern steel mills.[1] The tunnel was used consistently from its opening to 2001, when LTV Steel went bankrupt and closed their ore dock in Taconite Harbor. When the location was bought by Cleveland Cliffs in 2002, cleanup trains ran on the line to pick up leftover chips and pellets until 2008.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Substreet - Cramer Tunnel Northern Minnesota. 2017-08-06. SUBSTREET. en-US. 2019-01-28.
  2. Web site: Cramer Tunnel in Lake County. 2017-09-10. Perfect Duluth Day. en-US. 2019-01-28.