Missabe Northern Railway

Scale: HO

The Missabe Northern is a large double-deck railroad designed for diverse freight, iron ore and passenger operations as found in Minnesota in the early 1940’s. The Duluth ore docks are the first scene you see as you enter this 3700 sq. ft. empire. Iron ore is classified and sorted by ship and ore dock pocket in the Proctor yard on the ‘hill’ and brought down to the docks in a prototypical manner. Back-EMF and sound decoder controlled steam engines perform realistically on over 4000 feet of hand laid track and 570 scratch built in place turnouts. GN and DMIR power dominate switching and mainline action that includes interchanges with eight other working railroads. Sign up early to join in a structured, friendly operating session using car cards and waybills. This layout was featured in 2013 Model Railroad Planning and many other hobby publications.

Era/Locale: Early 1940s Minnesota
Size: 64′ x 90′
Benchwork: 100%
Track: 100%
Scenery: 75%

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From Minnesota Digital Library:

“The growth of Minnesota can be tied directly to the growth of railroads. The railroads supported farmers, millers, miners, and loggers by moving the raw materials they produced to sell at markets. In turn, the railroads brought other goods and products to the people to build their homes, businesses, and towns. Railroads also brought immigrants to settle the land and provided jobs and income to laborers and investors.

Three of Minnesota’s major railroads were the Northern Pacific, the Great Northern, and the Soo Line. While these three were not the only railroads that operated in Minnesota, they had a major impact on the state.

The U.S. Congress chartered the Northern Pacific Railway in 1864 to build a transcontinental railroad from Lake Superior to the Pacific coast. When it was completed in 1883, the railroad had laid nearly 6,800 miles of track through Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Its headquarters were in St. Paul, Minnesota.”

From ThievesRiver.com:

1) Uff da

Background: A Scandinavian import, particularly from Norwegian, “uff da” is widely used to express dismay, exhaustion or sometimes even relief. It embodies the stoic yet expressive nature of Minnesotans.

Example: “Uff da! I forgot my wallet at the cabin. Now I can’t pay for the meat raffle tickets, gosh darn it!”

2) You Betcha

Background: This phrase epitomizes the friendly and positive attitude of Minnesotans. It’s often said with enthusiasm and is used to mean “absolutely” or “you can count on it.”

Example: “Do you want to come to the hockey game this weekend? Grain Belts are on me!” – “You betcha!”

Read more at ThievesRiver.com