Boom and Bust in the U.P.

IR & HB Baldwin Locomotive

Boom!

In 1890, investors from Detroit and Lansing proposed a railroad freight line from the Champion Mine to Huron Bay in Baraga County. Engineer Milo Davis argued that Huron Bay was a perfect untapped location that would serve the Champion Mine area better than Marquette.

Bust!

A major stumbling block to the Iron Range and Huron Bay Railroad was the steep grade in one section of the line where it reached 4 percent; normal grades, even in mountainous areas only averaged 2.5 percent.

Road cut on the Iron Range and Huron Bay Railroad.

The project, after ten years and nearly two million dollars of expenses, went bankrupt before a train could run on the tracks. Sam Beck, a caretaker of the locomotives at Huron Bay, did ride on the engine for about twenty yards until the rotted rail bed gave way and put the train in the ditch. Milo Davis fled to Mexico to avoid prosecution for fraud.

The story  made the New York Times.

More background on Wikipedia.