Copper Range Railroad

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The Copper Range Railroad (AAR reporting marks CR, COPR) was formed in 1899 in Houghton, Michigan. The railroad was owned by the Copper Range Company, a copper-mining concern with extensive holdings south of Portage Lake in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. It ran on roughly 60 miles (100km) of trackage from Calumet, Michigan to McKeever, Michigan. The Copper Range Railroad was dissolved in 1972, although the Copper Range Company continued to operate the White Pine copper mine at White Pine, Michigan until 1995. The railroad served several copper mines in the Keweenaw Peninsula, known collectively as the Copper Range. The railroad enjoyed connections with the DSS&A (later Soo Line) in Houghton, and with the Milwaukee Road in McKeever, providing both passenger and freight service, as well as school train service. During its life span, the Copper Range Railroad rostered 24 steam and 3 diesel locomotives.