LTV-Erie Mining Co Trainset
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LTV-Erie Mining Company Trainset Spectacular Add-on for Microsoft Train Simulator

LTV Trainset is our current bestseller and is available from computer retail stores worldwide. In a few words, this is what the railroad simmers are saying about LTV:    "Excellent", Lindsay.S. of Australia "Great Game", Michael.V., of Ohio "I love it", David C. of Minnesota "Awsome!!!!!", Michael N. of New Hampshire "Superb", John S. of Wisconsin "You guys are doing great work here", Stewart H. of Oregon "The new route route looks great. Lots of little surprises around every corner.". Robert L. via Internet

LTV-Erie Mining Company Trainset Its name gives you a hint as to how these trains were used. These mighty railroads move 8,000 tons of iron ore in one swoop! The men and woman who worked on the LTV-EMC line were in business for the "heavy haul" for parent company LTV Steel Mining Corp. The line operated in northern Minnesota from Hoyt Lakes to Taconite Harbor. The 74 mile long route winds from the head of the mines to the shores of Lake Superior. What is amazing is that these locomotives were designed and made more than 40 years ago. The longevity of the EMD-F9s demonstrate the care and dedication that the company and the crews put into maintaining their equipment. While other locomotive types came and went, nothing outlasted the F's.

Monster F9 Locomotive The powerful F9 locomotives supplied to muscle for the LTV-EMC railroad. These monsters haul the high grade iron ore pellets. Mark Branscum and Marc Nelson of 3dtrains.com have painstakingly recreated the F9, GP20 and RS-11 locomotives especially for MSTS. These state of the art locomotives have working virtual cabs. They've also reproduced 45 additional work cars just like the ones at the LTV Hoyt Lakes steel mining operation.
The mighty F9, click for enlargement	At the F9 throttle. Click for enlargement
The "B" Unit On the mainline, the train was usually made up as an "ABBBA" lash-up. Here's the matching F9B "booster" unit. There are an additional 45 cars that made up this trainset.
GP20 Locomotive These four GP20 engines represent the entire LTV GP20 fleet.
At the ore processing plant	Inside the GP20 cab
RS-11 Locomotive Stong and agile, these workhorses moved heavy loads from the mine
Alco RS-11	Click for enlargment
Mangor cars These cars are used to move the "raw rock" from the loading pockets to the processing plant.
Mangor with remote control station	Mangor cars on siding
Mining Operations Since 1957, LTV Steel Mining has been mining, processing and transporting iron ore from Hoyt Lakes in northern Minnesota. The high grade ore (pellets) are moved by rail to the docks at Taconite Harbor. The railroad is more commonly known as the Erie Mining Company, since LTV Steel Mining absorbed the bankrupt EMC in the 50's. During operation, 25 million tons of crude ore are mined each year. Large drills bore columns 45 feet deep x 16 inches in diameter into the rock. Explosives are used to loosen the taconite. Then huge buckets load the crude into humongeous trucks which then haul it to rail cars to be pulled to the coarse crusher. The crude is pounded into 6 inch rocks using 60 inch rotating crushers. Additional crushers reduce these to 3/4 inch size. Next a conveyor sends it 1/4 mile to the concentrator which grinds it to a fine powder. The iron ore particles are separated magnetically. Further processing increases the concentration to 67% iron. This beneification process is completed when the liquid is removed, the concentrate rolled into balls, and finally heated to 2300 degrees to produce pellets. The pellets are loaded onto a train with 96 to 108 cars. The train travels 74 miles to Taconite Harbor where the pellets are unloaded in a matter of minutes into the specially made dock bins and then loaded onto lake carriers to travel to Indiana and Ohio steel plants.
The Mainline Route Hoyt Lakes to Taconite Harbor BONUS - You'll also receive the mainline route from Hoyt Lakes to Taconite Harbor which also has activities around the mines and the ore processing plants. On the USGS maps the mainline is marked "Erie Mining Railroad". The tracks curve gently as it leaves the ore processing plant in Hoyt Lakes and heads due east on its 74 mile journey to Lake Superior. It makes its way through swamps and forests as it leaves the Iron Range near Murphy City. It crosses several other rail lines including the Mesabi Range and Iron Railroad, Reserve Mining and Northern Steel Lines. You'll travel through the Cramer Tunnel, across a high tressle and through the deep rock cut that was blasted in the rocks especially for the rail line. As it approaches the last few miles of the line, there are three snaking turns that have the parts of the long train moving in opposing directions. All this takes place as the train descends along a 2% grade on its final leg to the shipping docks. When it finally makes the last winding turn you'll see the vast blue of the Lake Superior. Click here to see more pictures of the route.	click for enlargement Map courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey. Team of F9s arrive at Lake Superior This view is from the trestle which sits about 100' above the lake level.
This scenic rock cut is not far from Taconite Harbor	Last pellet car trailing as the 100 cars slowly round one of the final curves close to the Lake Superior shoreline.
Approaching the docks at Taconite Harbor	Snaking across the unloading docks. Notice the incredible detail of the 100 ft. high trestle
Click here to see more of the route.	Here's another site you may see while on the rails in Northern Minnesota. While researching the route from Hoyt Lakes to Taconite Harbor on October 11th, we filmed this moose as he was roaming the tracks near mile marker 30. To view a short clip of this moose encounter, click here. The video clip is 5.8MB.

The end of a long road The EMC line proudly served the LTV Steel Corporation for years. However, difficult business conditions and competition forced the operation to cease operation. The final train run was made on June 22, 2001 when the F9 "ABBBA" hauled the last of the stockpiled pellets to the docks at Lake Superior. Due to the mine operation closing, more than 1400 workers have lost their jobs. This event has dealt a devastating blow to the Hoyt Lakes area economy. The LTV-EMC Trainset is a tribute to all of the employees, both past and recent who contributed to the legacy of this unique rail line.

Click for Enlargement

Workmanship and a Goal These superb trains were conceived and created by Mark Branscum and Marc Nelson of 3dtrains.com Our best wishes to the men and woman of LTV Steel Mining who lost their jobs due to the closure of the operation. On behalf of Mark Branscum and Marc Nelson, Abacus will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this software to the LTV Fund through the United Way to help the families of LTV Steel Mining. We'd like to thank the following people for their help with this project: Jim Scott and his staff at Cleveland Cliffs for coordinating with LTV Steel Corporation. Doug Buell, 30+ year veteran of the LTV Steel Mining's Engineering Team for historical information, maps, photos and spotting during our video filming. Kent Rengo, photographer. Rick Bradford, city clerk of Hoyt Lakes. Shelly Renner of United Way.

Consider a contribution to the LTV Fund to assist the familes of the Hoyt Lakes area.

Title	Platform	Item #	ISBN #	S.R.P.	Media	Available
LTV-Erie Mining Co Trainset	Train Simulator and Win98/ME/2000 Requires 500MB Hard Disk Space	S467	1-55755-467-6	$29.95	CD-ROM	Now

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