Steinie's U3DA Game "What is it?"

[spacekdet]

Troofer Alert?
I only guessed because I just finished reading this.

[Finis]

[spacekdet]

I know but I'll hold off.

[Steinie]

I'll post the visual obvious....a statue of a Warrior prisoner or Greek character like Hercules, who has broken from his or her chains.

[Finis]

This broken chain is at the feet of the statue called "Liberty Enlightening the World". The Statue of Liberty.

@Steinie Possibly. The sculptor is thought to have modeled the statue after his mother but it may have been inspired by Libertas, Roman goddess of freedom.

@Spacekdet You're right! Or you would have been right!

Someone post another what is it.

[spacekdet]

[Finis]

It is a locomotive engine. Possibly steam powered. It has a blade that functions like a bulldozer or grader to move dirt. Not aerodynamic and has windows in front. That looks like a design for moving slowly with high visibility ahead. The tracks are supported by logs which could mean the track is temporary. There are trees in the valley but the land above is barren and flat. I believe it is farmland. The slope into the valley is precise and has no sign of erosion so it is new. Some bulldozed material has been pushed into the valley.

Is this work to build the railroad or for another purpose? Since the rails are at the level of the flat land and the logs look temporary I think the rails will be removed later. If not building a railroad then what is it doing?

[spacekdet]

You have a lot of things right but the flat ground being farmland isn't one of them.
The clue to unlock the mystery: it was photographed in Rogers City, Michigan.

[Steinie]

Was this locomotive working the largest Limestone Quarry in the World?

[spacekdet]

I'm going to call it a joint win because you are both right.
The tracks are indeed temporary, the train is dumping the waste rock/ tailings from the limestone mining and then is using the blade to push them over the edge of the slope. As the edge expands the tracks get moved and the process continued. Piled higher than the treetops and twice as deep.
No doubt all done with trucks and heavy diesel equipment nowadays.

Here is the mine as seen from space:
https://binged.it/2t6hz4s" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I used Bing instead of Google maps because Bing maps pictures a boat being loaded with stone at the port of Calcite.
Fun fact: Ships, no matter their size, are locally called 'boats' on the Great Lakes. 'Salties' are ships that have come in from the Atlantic via the Saint Lawrence Seaway.

Here is another aerial view of a portion of the mine: