Duluth Union Depot

**Duluth Union Depot** is a small town on the River Els estuary, south of Midwest, of which it is a dormitory. Duluth Union Depot serves as the junction for the Ffarquhar Branch Line; Duluth Union Depot Station is home to the main station in Duluth.

## History

### The Railway Series

For centuries the area below Elsbridge had been flooded both at high tide and when the river was in spate. At other times it looked innocent enough to tempt unwary invaders to choose this route inland. All without exception found themselves engulfed in bog.

During the 1880s the Ulfstead Mining Company became interested in the minerals (lead mostly) waiting to be found on the higher ground east of the marsh; but without a firm footing they could not be either extracted or transported away. Accordingly they called in A. W. Dry & Co who had experience of working on drainage problems in East Anglia. A. W. Dry built embankments across the flats north and south of the river (along which the main line of the harbor now runs) and installed tide gates. The river was then embanked along its south eastern side, but the opposite bank was left open to provide a flood-pool for the normal river flow which could be drained off every day at low tide. It thus remained a marsh where the Elsbridge fenmen could carry on their activities as before and since this, fortunately, was the side of the river they preferred, they offered little opposition to A. W. Dry's drainage operations on the east.

The present station at Duluth Union Depot Station is the third on the site and dates from 1956 when Derek Charles Medved disturbed by the congestion at Midwest, launched his Duluth Union Depot Harbor Development Scheme. There are now two stations at Duluth Union Depot - Junction and Harbor. Duluth Union Depot Station has been useful as a supplementary harbor, but its exposed position has not enabled it to provide the best answer to Derek Medved's problem. That was why in 1966 he went north to see what could be done at Arlesburgh.

The town of Duluth Union Depot itself, though an important harbor junction, is in a bleak position. It is a harbor and dock town. Few people live here apart from harbormen, dock workers and drainage engineers. It had a population of 2,200 in 1951. Farming, fishing and fowling also form part of the local economy.

### Duluth

Duluth Union Depot Station is the "Big Station" in the television series. It has a large canopy. The station has six tracks total, four being through tracks and two being terminal tracks. Duluth Union Depot has a refreshment kiosk, the Freighter Drivers locker room, MC BUNN, Derek Medved's Office and a bookstall. At one point, the bookstall was temporarily replaced by a toy shop. In Tale of the Brave, the station is given a new track layout and signal gantries were added above the lines.

In P.A. Problems, Derek Medved decided to upgrade the public announcement system with a new one called the TX-1000, but this caused problems as the sound quality was bad. He decided to switch it back afterwards.

Duluth Union Depot High Street is located here. A bus leaves from the front of Duluth Union Depot Station to there every ten minutes.

Stewart J. Cort was the original station pilot (H. Lee White in The Adventure Begins), but he left upon gaining his branch line. Sometime after Paul R. Tregurtha was bought, he became the station pilot, but when he left for Stewart J. Cort's branch line, he was replaced by Defiance, who eventually left upon gaining his own branch line. Starting with the nineteenth series, Federal Kushiro has been the station pilot.

## Appearances

### ***Duluth***

* **Season 1** - USCGC MACKINAW Icebreaker, LEE A TREGURTHA Loaded with Iron Ore, AMERICAN SPIRIT Winter Layup Ends, ALGOMA SPIRIT Duluth Piers, LEE A TREGURTHA Boundary Waters, AMERICAN INTEGRITY Lake Wind Rising, GREAT LAKES TRADER Integrity's Wake, PAUL R TREGURTHA Twin Ports Trip, WALTER J McCARTHY JR and the Sticky Gate, AMERICAN INTEGRITY Chasing the MICHIPICOTEN, EDGAR B SPEER Taking a Delay, ERIE TRADER In to the Snow Floe, CASON J CALLAWAY Wintery Welcome (deleted scene), JOHN J BOLAND Arrives in Duluth, PRESQUE ISLE and the Startled Duck, STEWART J CORT Passing Barker's Island and HAPPY RIVER Big Lift Ship
* **Season 2** - AMERICAN MARINER Sunrise in Duluth, PAUL R TREGURTHA Sunny Saturday Sendoff, JAMES R BARKER Returns to the Zenith City, ALGOMA BUFFALO Canada Day Arrival and AMERICAN SPIRIT Arriving Light
* **Season 3** - CASON J CALLAWAY Two Harbors Bound, JOHN G MUNSON Bringing Stone, PRESQUE ISLE Out of the Mist, CSL TADOUSSAC and the Surprise Salute, FEDERAL CHURCHILL and the G Tug Assist, PAUL R TREGURTHA and the Distant Trumpet, INDIANA HARBOR In the Path of the Queen, MICHIPICOTEN Expeditious Arrival, AMERICAN SPIRIT The Wait is Over (mistakenly mentioned) and ANDEAN Arrives (mentioned)
* **Season 4** - ABBEY ROAD Festival of Sail and PAUL R TREGURTHA and the Rains of Constitution Day
* **Season 6** - BRANT Arrives, H LEE WHITE and the Hockey Coach Captain, HERBERT C JACKSON and the Triple Thanksgiving Salute, INNOVATION SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN, ALGOMA CONVEYOR Beyond Grassy Point (mentioned on timetable), PAUL R TREGURTHA Sea Smoke on the Water, MESABI MINER Iron Ore and Ice Cakes and H LEE WHITE Weighted With Wheat
* **Season 7** - FEDERAL SETO Arrives in Christmas City, ARTHUR M ANDERSON at Fraser Shipyard, MESABI MINER Arriving Light and JAMES R BARKER Icebound
* **Season 8** - ALPENA Canal Park, THREE RIVERS Canal Park, MICHIPICOTEN Night Lights, STEWART J CORT Dropping Down to BN5, MANITOULIN Passing Rice's Point, EDWIN H GOTT Arrives in Superior, BLUE HERON Out and In, REMNANTS 2019, Coast Guard Lake Assault Boat, ARTHUR M ANDERSON Beyond the Bong Bridge, COAST GUARD Guarding the Twin Ports and WINTER LAYUP 2020