Taconite, Calcite, Dolomite: Michigan's Mineral Railroads

Michigan is rich in minerals. Its Upper Peninsula has been a major source of iron ore for the steel industry for over a century. Both of Michigan's peninsulas have huge limestone quarries providing the calcite and dolomite needed for the steel, construction and chemical industries. Witness first-hand Michigan's railroads moving these minerals from mine and quarry to Great Lakes ships at nearby ports for transportation to their intended destinations between the years 1977 and 1991 in photographs taken by the author.