Calumet and Hecla Railroad

Calumet and Hecla Railroad was a private railroad company owned by Calumet and Hecla Mining Company.

History
The railroads main line ran down from the Conglomerate lode mines in Calumet to a stretch of C&H industrial complexes along Torch Lake. These included the stamp mill and reclamation plant at Lake Linden, as well as the Smelter and coal docks a mile south at Hubbell. As C&H opened new mines and acquired others, the line was extended to service them as well. New lines were built to Osceola, Centennial, Laurium and the Red Jacket Shaft.

As C&H expanded northward with the Ahmeek, Kingston, and Gratiot Mines the railroad needed to expand with it. For this the company bought up the old Traprock Valley Railroad which ran from Lake Linden along the Traprock Valley up towards Copper City in the north. This almost doubled the railroad's length, and allowed material to be transported from these northern mines without the need to travel across other railroad’s tracks. The success of the Ahmeek mine and the increased ore needing stamping prompted the addition of a line extending from the Traprock Valley junction south to the Ahmeek mill at Tamarack Mills.