About the Splitrock Mining Company

The Splitrock Mining Company was formed in 1954. The soft iron ore in Minnesota’s iron ranges were running out, so the state changed the tax method to spur on the development of the taconite industry. The Vermilion Range was left out of the taconite growth due to having underground mines.

The redeeming feature was that the iron ore from the mines in the Vermilion Range was of such high iron content. (You could actually weld two chunks of ore together.) Modern underground mining methods saved money and the raw ore was still valuable. The cost was in the mining, and not the processing like taconite. A group of four steel producers, Pickands-Mather, Cleveland Cliffs, Bethlehem Steel, and Inland Steel formed the Splitrock Mining company and a new rail line was built from the Vermilion Range to the Lake Superior port in Agate Bay, Minnesota.

Power is 100% Alco.

Roster includes:

RS-11 1100-1119

RS-32 3200-3209

C-415 4150-4151

C-420 4200-4209

C-424 4240-4249

C-425 4250

C-430 430-1/430-2 Demonstrators

C-630 6300-6303

C-636 6360-6365

C-643-DH 6430-6432