Lake Superior & Ishpeming #2011

Box car, Pressed Steel Car Co, July 1901

LS&I #2011 after restoration, November, 2012. Bill Buhrmaster photo.

Lake Superior & Ishpeming box car #2011 is one of 25 such box cars purchased by the Marquette & South Eastern, a predecessor to the LS&I. The 34-foot, 80,000 lb. capacity box car was built by Pressed Steel Car Co. in July 1901.

Few modifications were made to the car over the years, but the car was eventually downgraded to a capacity of 60,000 lbs. Several of these 1901 Pressed Steel built box cars remained in company use on the LS&I into the 1960s. The #2011 was later sold to an individual in Ishpeming, Michigan who used the car for storing hardware supplies.

LS&I boxcars #2011 and #2026 together were transported to Mid-Continent Railway Museum in 2007 after museum volunteers had located them in Upper Michigan a few years prior and targeted them for preservation. The two cars were been stored on an isolated piece of track behind the original LS&I depot in Ishpeming, MI for 40 years. Both cars were intact and in good condition and were transported to the museum aboard three flatbed trailers, arriving on July 19, 2007.

Since its arrival, #2011 has been cosmetically restored to the 1946 era when it was last painted by LS&I.

The Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railway Company was formed in 1892 by the Cleveland-Cliffs iron ore company and completed a line from Presque Isle, Michigan (just north of Marquette) to Ishpeming in 1896. In 1923, a neighboring railroad, the Munising Marquette and Southeastern, was merged into LS&I for a total 173 miles trackage.

The core route of the Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad still operates out of Marquette, Michigan hauling iron ore from mines to Great Lakes ships.

LS&I boxcars #2026 (behind locomotive) and #2011 upon delivery at North Freedom, July 19, 2007. Jim Connor photo.
LS&I boxcars #2026 (behind locomotive) and #2011 upon delivery at North Freedom, July 19, 2007. Jim Connor photo.
A crane unloads LS&I boxcar #2011
A crane unloads LS&I boxcar #2011 at North Freedom on July 19, 2007. Jim Connor photo.
A crane unloads LS&I boxcar #2011 at North Freedom on July 19, 2007. Jim Connor photo.
A crane unloads LS&I boxcar #2011 at North Freedom on July 19, 2007. Jim Connor photo.
Two LS&I boxcars arrive on three semis from Ishpeming, MI on July 19, 2007.
Two LS&I boxcars arrive on three semis from Ishpeming, MI on July 19, 2007.