The ice then was rolled off to the railroad boxcars. Ice was carried on a chain drive conveyor that ran parallel to the tracks. Where a man stationed on a platform at the entrance to the boxcar would push the ice inside. Four men inside the car would place the ice along the floor. Cars were loaded four at a time, two from the low bridge for the first tier, then to the high bridge where other tiers were loaded. At first a standby switch engine moved these cars, but later by the ice plant's winch - powered by a fifteen horsepower Fairbanks-Morse one cylinder semi-diesel engine. Depending on the thickness of the ice some years, there could be more then two tiers of ice in the boxcars.

The Soo Line had about twenty-one ice houses which they filled for themselves or contracted to fill for others in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Some years part of the Barrett crew would travel to help fill some of these houses too. During the early 1950's the Soo used about 50,000 tons of ice yearly, of which 30,000 tons was harvested at Barrett. In 1951, 756 boxcars of ice were taken from Barrett lake as Far West as Whitetail, but also east to Weyerhauser and Rhinelander.

Soo Line ice houses filled with Barrett Lake of varying capacities were located at:

During the 1959 - 1960 season they loaded 422 cars in twelve days. This amounted to 17,000 tons of ice. This would make about 4,250,000 gallons of water. In the 1920's the price of ice for loading cars ranged from $10.00 for a 20 ton capacity, to $25.00 for a 50 ton capacity railroad car. Order forms came in a price list folder.

In Closing

Ole passed away in 1929, leaving the operation to his sons Oscar, Elmer, Norman and Clifford. Elmer met his untimely death in 1931. In 1932 the plant closed until 1943 due to the loss of the railroad contract. Some ice was taken up during these years and delivered by the Hjelle brothers to area icehouses. For the period from 1943 to 1946 a three-year contract was obtained and operations resumed. In 1946 the E.W. Wylie Company leased the plant for a three-year period, which was extended to five years. The lease at that time was for $500 per season. When the lease expired E.W. Wylie purchased the operations with RG Lyngstad as the owner. Norman Hjelle was hired as foreman. He held that position until his death in 1962. Gornell Hjelle was his successor for two years. Tom Hjelle then took over the managerial position, which he held until the plant closed down after the 1972-73 winter season.

The ice plant closed in 1973, 80 years after Ole Hjelle signed his first contract to supply ice to the Soo Line Railroad. By this time, the Soo Line had enough mechanical reefers for its perishable shipping business that Barrett Lake ice was not needed anymore.