#346 is one of six class B-4 0-6-0s built by Alco at its Schenectady, NY, works in 1915 (#344-#349) for the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Saulte Ste. Marie, (more commonly known as the Soo Line). A further five B-4s were built for the railroad by Alco’s Brooks Locomotive Works in Dunkirk, NY, in 1920 (#350-#354).
#346 worked in the St. Paul, MN, yards hauling coal to the Northern States Power Plant. Retired in 1955, it was sold to switch cars at the Koppers Company coal gasification
plant in St. Paul, MN. Some time in the 1960s, #346 was
sold the Depot House Restaurant in Rochester, MN. It was next sold to the Salvation Army in Rochester and displayed near an outlet store. In 1990 it was sold on to the Mt. Pleasant Shop Services and, finally, in April that year, it was bought by the Wheels Across the Prairie Museum in Currie, MN.
The Wheels Across the Prairie Museum was started in 1977 when a small group of local citizens began to collect historic artefacts from all facets of prairie life, agricultural, railroad and automotive. The museum opened its doors on 1st June 1985.
#346 weighs 151,000 lbs. A coal burner with 20” x 26” cylinders and 49” drivers, it operated at 80 psi delivering 31,200 lbs tractive effort.
The balloon stack and pilot were apparently added by the museum to make it look more "attractive".
The tender appears to have been sold by the Koppers Company to the Depot House Restuarant and on to the museum.
The immigrant box car and caboose were later acquired by the museum from the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad.
