CN 8903 and a crusty old C44-9WL lead a southbound manifest on the former DMIR Interstate line, descending down the ~2.2%(?) grade of Steelton Hill into Gary/New Duluth, MN. In the far background is Ely's Peak, 1,133 ft. above sea level, and about 450 ft. above where I stood to take this picture. Hugging the side of the mountainous terrain was DW&P's mainline coming out of West Duluth, which is now a hiking trail, and one of the coolest ones in the state, I might add. You can actually walk right through an old DW&P tunnel, it's quite worth a look if you ever find yourself in the Twin Ports region.
I'd been wanting to attempt an angle like this here for a while, and the Commonwealth Avenue underpass beneath CN's Superior Sub made for an excellent vantage point. I'm glad they ran on the south main, that definitely made this shot doable. Taken on the CN Superior Subdivision in Gary/New Duluth, MN.
