This former Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway line was purchased in 1988 by the St. Louis & Lake Counties Regional Rail Authority, for tourist service that began in 1990. From the yard at Duluth Depot (MP 0.0), where the line makes an end on connection with the BNSF, and is single track, Yard Limits, with maximum speed 30 mph, with the Lake Superior Rail Museum alongside to the northwest, located in the erstwhile Duluth Union Depot (most of whose tracks faced southwest, as they all do in 2009), the brick platform and umbrella shed are on the northwest of the west-facing platform track, out of which all trains must head southwest, passing beneath the bridges carrying I-35, before reversing to run northeast, the line heads northeast, with I-35 now to the northwest past the former location of Bridge Yard on the southeast side, and comes alongside the northwest shore of Lake Superior, with a line of trees between the line and the lakeshore.
The line passes two grade crossings, a street alongside to the northwest, Endion, London Road Tunnel (MP 2.9), Tischer Creek (MP 3.4), four grade crossings, the 510 ft. siding at Lakeside (MP 4.8), a street alongside to the northwest, two grade crossings, the river bridge at Lester River (MP 6.2), a grade crossing, and an angled grade crossing.
Track Warrant Control starts at Milepost 6.5 (MP 6.5), as the line continues northeast, along the lakeshore, past a grade crossing, Highway 61 (MP 6.8), a street alongside to the northwest, trees between the line and the lake, Lakewood, an angled grade crossing, an embankment, Clifton, a road alongside to the southeast, a high trestle over a river at French River (MP 13.0), a grade crossing, a dirt road grade crossing, the 1,790 ft. siding at Palmers (MP 16.0), aka Palmer Lake, a bridge over an angled road, a dirt road grade crossing, Picaroon (MP 18.7), a road alongside to the southeast, a grade crossing, a bridge over a river at Knife River (MP 19.5), where the depot is on the northwest side of the line and a Duluth & Northern Minnesota Railway (common carrier of Alger-Smith Logging) line once trailed in from the west.
There is a road alongside to the northwest, a dirt road alongside to the southeast, four dirt road grade crossings, roads alongside on both sides, Larsmont, two grade crossings, the start of Yard Limits at Milepost 24.3 (MP 24.3), extra track alongside to the northwest, a grade crossing, Marbles (MP 25.0), a dirt road grade crossing, a bridge carrying the line over the DM&IR, the start of CTC at CTC Signal 25.8 (MP 25.8), where the line joins the DM&IR, there is a connector spiraling down from the bridge on the southeast side of the line, and a seven-track DM&IR yard on the southeast side, and connections to three (two extant) ore docks on the south side at Two Harbors Junction.
The line turns just north of due east, and then at the east end of the yard turns north, bridging over a stream and a highway, to the junction at Depot Connection Switch (MP 27.1), where the DM&IR line continues north and the NSSR line reverses onto the Yard Limits track south and then east, with a wye track trailing in from the west and two tracks south of the wye switch, with a street alongside to the east and then to the north, and a grade crossing, down to the Two Harbors Depot (MP 27.9), where the depot and a shed covering a stuffed-and-mounted DM&IR 'Yellowstone' is on the north side of the line, adjacent to a massive operational ore dock to the south (DM&IR Dock 1) extending into the lake on the south side.