Remains of the Minn., St. Paul & Ste. Marie Railway (the Soo Line) Ore Dock

USA / Minnesota / Duluth /
 water, ruins, historical layer / disappeared object
Remains of the Minn., St. Paul & St. Marie Railway ore dock (Soo Line dock), once the largest dock on earth.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   46°43'57"N   92°7'57"W

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  • Soo Line Railroad built a single iron ore dock in West Superior (now called 'North End') facing north off Grassy Point. This was the largest ore dock ever built in Superior, and the shortest lived. It served the Cuyuna Range, and grew proportionally to the ranges mining developments. First constructed in 1910-11 entirely of timber, it extended 1800 ft. from just south of the Northern Pacific Grassy Point line into St. Louis Bay. It had 100 pockets. On May 27th, 1911, approximately 8pm, the first of the ore was loaded aboard the steamer Alva, which would then carry its relatively small 3500-ton load to the Rogers Brown Ore Company furnaces at Buffalo, NY. In 1911-12, a 600 ft. extension was added and another 600 ft. during 1912-13, bringing it to a length of 3000 ft. In October of 1914, a boxcar body was placed for a lunchroom shelter. In 1915, a 67x190 ft. fire dock was completed approximately 275 ft west of the main dock, half of which was built over water. Also in this year, the boxcar body lunchroom burned and was soon replaced. During 1916, a 24x24 ft. frame ore dock office building was built, complete with block foundation and indoor plumbing. During 1916-17, a final 612 ft. dock extension added another 402 pockets and an ultimate length of 3612 ft., extending all the way to the U.S. Harbor Line, making it the single largest dock on earth. It had been equipped electrically from the beginning allowing for 24 hour operation, reportedly drawing visitors from all around to see the work being done. 1920 saw the second box-car shelter burn to the ground and a permanent 12x32 ft. structure built, this being eventually moved to the 21st Street Yard at the completion of the ore dock operation. This docks ore yards were located between South Superior and 28th Street, west of the Great Northern tracks. As early as 1925, engineering department inspections predicted increasing maintenance problems and expenditures with heavy use of the dock, with visual indicators such as sinking and shifting occurring in the approach and original dock section. Along with maintenance, other factors such as comparatively slower load times than Northern Pacific's dock and the need to enlarge the underpass at Rossburg for larger locomotive power led to the docks last commercial use by boat and rail in 1928. After the Northern Pacific-Soo Line Cuyuana Range merger of June 1929, all Soo ore traffic would be diverted to the NP's dock at Allouez Bay, and Addison-Miller Company was contracted to dismantle and salvage the usable materials from the dock. By August of 1930, approximately 400 ft. of the dock had been dismantled. The rest burned violently, probably caused by one of the torches used for cutting drift pins. For approximately 14 hours, the fire raged to the sight of about 10,000 spectators, becoming Superior's most spectacular fire. In an attempt to divert the flames from further damage, a 250 lb. charge of dynamite was placed and ignited, causing windows to break in both Superior and neighboring Duluth. But this accomplished little, and the fire continued to burn the remainder of the structure. Losses of 14 million ft. of salvageable lumber valued at $420,000 and a stiff beam derrick among other equipment was lost. No lives were lost. Today, the remains of the Soo ore dock may be seen (especially when water levels are down) at the base of the Bong Bridge in Superior, Wisconsin. Info. stated here came from many sources over years of research. Best place to research this and other Superior docks is at the Superior Public library in their archives collection.
  • The Soo dock had 402 pockets total (I mistakenly wrote above that there was an extension made of 402 pockets) each with a 300 ton pocket capacity. Total dock capacity was 120,000 ton. It stood 76 ft. above the water line on St. Louis Bay and was 58 ft. wide at deck. Dredging depth along the dock (called the 'slip') was most likely 22 ft., a standard dredging depth for docks at the time.
  • Another excellent entry, Allouez. 3,612 feet! I'd never read that before--0.68 mile. You could easily fit three of today's largest bulk freighters (thousand-footers) on one side of the Soo Line Dock. Imagine how many of the smaller ships of the 1910s and '20s would be getting loaded at one time. That length is extra amazing when you consider that Great Northern Dock No. 1 is 2,244 feet. Yes, the library is already on my list for whenever I get to Superior. Now the remains of the Soo Line Dock are too. Thanks!
  • My pleasure. I love the history of this area.... And as for the amazing dock-length of the Soo, it was much longer than todays docks in Duluth, though they are often credited for being the largest to have been constructed in the Twin Ports. There are varying points from which to measure the dock....some include the ramp-section while others do not. Strictly speaking, the dock begins where the trestle ends. In any event, this was easily the largest gravity dock built. I'll track down my papers and sight more specific sources for this info. should anyone want to check it.....
  • I just added a Superior Telegram image/article from the date October 25, 1910, pg. 7 for those interested. This clipping was photocopied from the Historical Archives at the Superior Public Library. I'll continue to look for more information on this vanished structure. (I was 'Allouez' from the above postings...)
This article was last modified 8 years ago