Ore docks of lake Superior

The Ore docks of lake superior:
An ore dock is a large structure used for loading ore (typically from railway cars or ore jennies) onto ships. The typical construction of an ore dock is a long high structure, with a railway track or tracks along the top with a number of "pockets" into which ore is unloaded from cars, typically by gravity. Each pocket has a chute that can be lowered to discharge the ore into the hold of a ship berthed alongside. Many of these type of docks can be found in harbour towns along the coast of lake superior in the U.S. There are not many of these impressive structures in use anymore most of them have been torn down or abandoned.

The largest dock of this type in the world exist in Superior, Wisconsin, as part of BNSF's Allouez Taconite Facility. This ore dock is 750 m long and is 30 meters high:


Not far from this structure three other of these ore docks can be found. In the town of Duluth near Superior two more of these impressive structures are situated:







More of these kind of ore docks at lake Superior can be found here in the town of Two Harbours:


, here at the town of Ashland:


,and here in Marquette: