Maritime and Railroad History in Duluth
Posted on Oct 19, 2009 under Travel | No CommentOn the banks of the beautiful and majestic shores of Lake Superior is the city of Duluth. A port city on the Great Lakes once the connecting point of east and west with the railroad connections to the west and the navigable water ways all the way to the Atlantic. Once a boom town in its mining and lumbering hay days, Duluth’s growth rivaled that of Chicago then. Today Duluth is a quiet city with an interesting history and some really cool museums to see.
We went to Duluth to see two museums in particular. The Lake Superior Marine Museum and the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. Being ship and railroad buffs these museums were a natural draw for us. The railroad museum was fascinating. I am always intrigued with the history of the railroads and how they interweave into the story of the country as a whole.
I first became interested in railroads from the stories my great uncle told of being a switch-man and turn table operator in a railroad yard in Hopewell Junction, NY. He told of the noise and steam of the giant engines pulling onto the turn table then the turn table was pulled around by horses turning the around to head back in the direction from which it came. I an always interested in how the railroads were the same and the differences from one area of the country to another.
We got to our hotels Duluth and were pleased to discover it was near the museum thus saving us the trouble of finding it. We spent the majority of the day at the museum and tomorrow plan on taking one of the train rides they offer along the north shore of Lake Superior.
Our final day in Duluth will be spent on the Lake taking site seeing tours and visiting the Lake Superior Maritime museum. Filled with information and site seeing out trip to Duluth is shaping up to be a winner!
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