If you come from a steel-making region or Minnesota or model the steel industry, you may be familiar with Taconite pellets, which are made from low-grade iron-ore (sedimentary rocks). The pellets are produced primarily in Minnesota, shipped on giant cargo ships to the Great Lakes and then transported by rail to the mills. For the Edgar Thomson Works of US Steel in Braddock, PA, the pellets are moved from Lake Erie by the Bessemer and Lake Erie RR (now owned by CN) and then delivered to the mill by the Union RR. Here are photos of Taconite pellets I collected under the Union RR bridge near ET. The B&LE hopper and the URR switcher (Atlas) are N Scale. Dave
