NRHS Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad "Skally Limited" 8/13/2009

by Chris Guenzler

This railroad is one that I had wanted to ride for years but it was never running on any of my prior visits to the Twin Ports. I hustled off "The Vacationer" at Duluth Union Station to a waiting bus which took us to West Duluth for our ride on this railroad.

Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad History

The original Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad was incorporated May 23, 1857 as the Nebraska and Lake Superior Railroad. The name was changed to the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad in 1861. It was the first railroad between the Twin Cities and Duluth. The railroad built from St. Paul to Wyoming, Minnesota in 1868; Wyoming north to Hinckley in 1869 and into Duluth in 1870. The last spike was driven near Thompson on April 1, 1870. In the Duluth area, the line was extended to Carlton through Thompson, generally following the St. Louis River through Fond-du-Lac, Morgan Park, West Duluth and into downtown Duluth. The first passenger train began operating in September 1870. The LS&M existed until 1877, when it was purchased by the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad, which in turn sold it to the Northern Pacific in 1900.

The Northern Pacific relocated the line between Carlton and Duluth to eliminate a number of curves and ease the grade. The new line, known as the SHort Line, split from the original route near the location of the present Lake Superior Zoo, and is today a hiking and bicycling trail. Part of the original line continues in service with the Northern Pacific providing commuter service to Fond-du-Lac until the 1930's. The line follows the shoreline of the St. Louis River estuary, Spirit Lake and Mud Lake.

The present Lake Superior and Missisippi was incorporated in 1981 by a group of volunteers from the Lake Superior Transportation Club, taking the name of the first railroad and using a portion of the original track near the St. Louis River. The all-volunteer, non-profit railroad operates over the BNSF trackage for a short distance. The remaining track is owned by the City of Duluth. The LS&M maintains the city-owned track, as well as a portion of the BNSF trackage.

The name "Skally" was a common reference by railroaders to the Northern Pacific line from St. Paul to Duluth. According to Frnak P. Donovan's history of the Minneapolis and St. Louis, "Mileposts on the Prairie" (the Minneapolis and St. Louis operated part of what would become the NP line between the Twin Cities and Duluth between 1873 and 1901), the term "Skally" stems from early Swedish workers who would abandon the railroad each spring for jobs in Duluth on the Great Lakes when the ice broke up. They would utter the phrase "Skaly go hoo", the Anglisized equivalent of "Skall ga till Duluth" meaning "I"m going to Duluth".

The train waits to start the trip.

The power for our train was Lake Superior and Mississippi 50 ton switcher 46, nee Flambeau Paper Company 46 built by General Electric in 1946. The mill donated the switcher in 1985.

Lake Superior & Mississippi coach 85, nee Duluth, Missabe and Northern 85 built by American Car and Foundry in 1912.

Lake Superior & Mississippi coach 29, nee Duluth, Missabe and Northern coach-lounge-solarium 29 built by American Car and Foundry in 1912.

Lake Superior & Mississippi open car 100-R built from a flat car and known as the "safari car". This is the car in which I chose to ride and made some new friends.