MINNESOTA IRON & STEEL: Minnesota is best known for supplying the steel industry with iron ore, but there were and are a number of Minnesota companies involved in making steel or related to the industry. These companies are Interlake Iron Zenith Furnace, USS Duluth Works, North Star Steel, Koppers Coke and American Iron & Supply. The 223 images are from photos, slides and postcards and range from the early 1900s to the 1990s. Also on the CD are publications and histories of the companies.

The presentation is like looking through a book on a computer. The CD works in PCs (WIN 2000/XP/Vista) & Macs and is self-starting. The images can be printed out. $19.95

UNION RAILROAD:The Union Railroad, owned by United States Steel, funnels materials used to make steel to its parent's plants along the Monongahela River. While essentially an industrial switching and transfer operation, the tonnages are immense. In addition to bringing in bulk material and shipping out finished products, it moves products produced at one plant to another one.

The video footage was shot between 1996 and 2001 by Scott Schaller and includes spectacular scenes of hot metal car action at the Edgar Thomson Works and historic photos.. The DVD video is 80 minutes long. $29.95

HOT METAL: A tour of the Great Lakes looking at the freighters, ferries, passenger liners, ports and docks, following the transportation of iron ore, grain, coal and passengers. The scenes span the period from the late 1800s to the 2007 and cover Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan and Erie, and the ports of Duluth, Superior, Ashland, Two Harbors, Silver Bay, Taconite Harbor, Port Arthur, Houghton and Marquette, and lower lake ports of Escanaba, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Chicago, Gary, Burns Harbor, Frankfort, Traverse City, Port Huron, Detroit, Toledo, Lorain, Cleveland, Ashtabula, Conneaut and Erie. The Soo Locks are also visited. Includes video of the "Charles M. Beeghly," "Adam E. Cornelius," "John J. Boland," "Roger Blough," "Stewart J. Cort," "Edward L. Ryerson," "Paul R. Tregurtha," "Canadian Enterprise," "Canadian Transport," "American Spirit" and "Indiana Harbor," along with film of the "Sewell Avery."

The video has 622 images, 26 minutes of video & film, narration, table of contents and is 77 minutes long. The video is on DVD and the photos are on a self-starting CD-ROM that is like looking through a book on a computer. Images on the CD can be printed out. $24.95

TACONITE HAULERS ON MINNESOTA'S MESABI IRON RANGE: The focus of the video is on moving taconite, either as pellets or raw rock, by rail from the mines and processing plants to the docks on Lake Superior at Duluth, Superior, Silver Bay and Taconite Harbor.

The final taconite hauler is Erie Mining/LTV Steel Mining. The tour starts in the mine, on to the mine-to-plant Alco-powered trains, following the pellet trains from the plant on the 72-mile mainline and then out onto the dock at Taconite Harbor. The Taconite Harbor powerplant that supplied electricity to the taconite plant and mines is toured. The mainline trains feature EMD F-9s and later power at the end of operations (includes footage of Erie Mining). [DVD Two Hours] $29.95

LAKE SUPERIOR IRON: A trip back to the iron ore & copper mines of the Lake Superior region through postcards, photos, video & film. The video spans the period from the late 1800s to the 1970s and tours the Vermilion, Mesabi and Cuyuna Ranges in Minnesota, the Gogebic and Menominee Ranges in Wisconsin/Michigan, the Marquette Range in Michigan and the Michipicoten and Atikokan Ranges in Ontario. Also shown are beneficiation plants, draglines, loading shovels, mining railroads and underground mining scenes (including a video trip down into one).

The video contains 566 images, video and 8 MM film, comprehensive narration on the mines, table of contents and is 52 minutes long. The video is on DVD and the original photos (with statistics on each mine) are on a self-starting CD-ROM that is like looking through a book. The images can be printed out. $24.95

MISSABE RETROSPECTIVE: A look back on the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range as it was before 1980 through video, 8 mm film, photos, slides and postcards.

The film, video, photos, slides and postcards are mostly from private collections that have not been seen before. There is over a half an hour of 8 mm film, about 11 minutes of video shot in 1980 and 543 images. The DVD video is 74 minutes long. $29.95

DULUTH, MISSABE & IRON RANGE STEAM POWER: The Missabe's steam power fleet was geared to move iron ore from the mines to the docks in Duluth & Two Harbors, with a couple of mixed freights and passenger trains thrown in. Hence the railroad ran some burly power in the form of Santa Fe's, ex-Bessemer & Lake Erie 2-10-4s, ex-Union Railroad 0-10-2s, the huge Yellowstones and the largest 10-coupled switcher.

Almost all of the 152 photos were scanned from original 2x4 negatives. The time period is mostly the mid-to-late 1950s and in locations such as Proctor, Two Harbors, Virginia and Mitchell Yard. There are also railfan trips with Santa Fe #506 and Yellowstones. $19.95

DULUTH, MISSABE & IRON RANGE DEPOTS & STRUCTURES: The Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway was not a big player in the passenger business, but had a number of depots. In its main business of transporting iron ore, the railroad had some specialized structures to support it, such as ore docks at two ports, along with yards and facilities to service its locomotives. The 94 images come from photos, slides and postcards. $14.95

DM&IR PACKAGE SET

A package set of the "Missabe Retrospective" DVD video and the two CD books on steam power and depots & structures for a special price of $44.95, a savings of $19.90 over purchased seperately.

TOD ENGINE PROJECT:The Tod Engine is a stationary steam engine that was used to power a rolling mill at the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company Brier Hill Works in Youngstown, Ohio. The engine was built in 1913-14 in downtown Youngstown, Ohio by the William Tod Company and operated until 1979. The last Tod rolling mill engine was built in 1920, and of the several hundred that were once in use, only about a half dozen remain today. The Tod engine is the largest of its type still in existence.

"The Tod Engine Project" video is a fundraiser for the Tod Engine Foundation. Of the $19.95 price, $14.95 goes to the Foundation. (DVD 40 minutes) $19.95