A great collection of locomotives in the Lake Superior Railroad Museum, Duluth, MN

Perhaps the most impressive piece in the museum's collection is Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range M3 #227, one of three surviving DM&IR Yellowstone type (2-8-8-4) locomotives. You can see another M3 on the DMIR #225 page of this website, as well as DMIR M4 #229 on the Two Harbors Depot Museum page.

#227 was restored by the DM&IR for the museum and is in really excellent condition. Because there is no natural light in the engine room, however, and the artificial lighting is quite low, it can be challenging to get good photos.

The Western Pacific M-137s delivered a massive 137,174 lbs tractive effort. They worked on the Feather River Canyon route, running 65-74
car Pacific Fruit Express trains up a ruling grade of 1% at speeds of
18-25 mph over one hundred and seventeen miles from Oroville to Portola, CA, but what the Missabe Road had in mind was an entirely new locomotive, far bigger than anything that had previously operated on the road, indeed, what was to be one of the largest locomotives ever built in the US.

The design included lengthening the back engine frame and fitting a larger, vestibuled cab to protect crews against the harsh northern cold, which increased the engine's weight and required a four-wheel trailing truck in place of the M-137's two-wheel truck.

A second order for ten more Yellowstones from Baldwin followed in 1943 (#228-#237).

Although identical in design to the M3s, the new, M4 Class were 4,700 lbs heavier because carbon steel was used in place of alloys as a result of war restrictions. They were completed late in 1943 after the DM&IR's ore traffic had subsided, so some were initially leased to the Denver & Rio Grande Western in the Winter season when much of the DM&IR system was inoperable because of the ice and heavy snow.

Above, #227 stands alongside MILW EF-1 #10200 on the left.

In the late 1930s, although tonnage had dropped considerably as a result of economic recession, the DM&IR saw a need for new power to meet the demands of transporting what were certain to be much greater volumes of ore as a result of impending war in Europe. The railroad had not purchased any new locomotives in nearly twenty years but had in mind a locomotive that could handle 115 car, 8,750 ton trains on the Iron Range Division's 0.62% grades without stalling.

The ten oil-burning Western Pacific M-137 class
2-8-8-2s (#251-#260) built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, PA, in 1931 was the basis for the design.

Both the forward and rear engine frames were of cast-steel with integral cylinders.

Roller bearings were installed on all drivers and axles, including the tender, and these were the only "pedestal" or "centipede" 4 + 10 wheeled tenders fitted to Yellowstone type locomotives in the US, a feature derived from the Union Pacific's Big Boys then nearing completion in the Alco works.

The DM&IR considered the first eight Yellowstones built by Baldwin at a cost of $246,570 each and designated Class M3 (#220-#227) a success, but their arrival in 1941 coincided with growing industrial actvity associated with WWII. It was time for more road power.

The tender weighs 438,000 lbs light with a 25,000 gallon water and 26 ton coal capacity.

In 1890, the "William Crooks" passed to the Great Northern Railway with another transfer of the road.

It was saved from scrapping by James J. Hill, President of the GN, in 1897, and later appeared at the 1927 Fair of the Iron Horse in Maryland.

#1 was built in 1861 for the Minnesota & Pacific Railroad by the New Jersey Locomotive & Machine Works. The M&P was almost immediately absorbed into the St Paul & Pacific, and #1 was named "William Crooks" after the Chief Mechanical Engineer of that road.

It was the first locomotive to operate in Minnesota, starting work in 1862 hauling passenger trains between St. Paul and St. Anthony. It joined the Saint Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway in June 1879 with transfer of the SP&P to that road.

The locomotive also appeared at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

An American type (4-4-0) locomotive, the "William Crooks" was built as a wood burner but was later converted to burn coal.

With an engine wheelbase of 19' 11" and driver wheelbase of 7', #1 is
50' 8¾" long. It weighs 55,400 lbs, 35,950 lbs on its 63" drivers. With Stephenson valve gear and 12" x 22" cylinders, it has a 12.5 sq ft grate and 65.4 sq ft firebox. Total heating surface is 498 sq ft and, operating at a boiler pressure of 110 psi, it delivered 4,700 lbs tractive effort.

The locomotive's cylinders, rods and bearings
were completely rebuilt at the Great Northern Railroad's Dale Street Shops in St. Paul, MN, in 1947-48 by machinist George A. Halvorsen (his
last job before retirement). It then steamed for the very last time, appearing in the "Wheels A-
Rolling" pageant at the Chicago Railroad Fair in 1948.

The "William Crooks" went on display at the Saint Paul Union Depot from 1954 to 1962 when it was donated to the Minnesota Historical Society by the Great Northern.

Five years later, after a lengthy search, the Northern Pacific found the locomotive in the woods near Hoquiam and traded Baldwin built 2-8-0 #51 for it. It was moved to St Paul, MN, for reconditioning and subsequently steamed at the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair, 1939-40 New York World's Fair and 1948-49 Chicago Railroad Fair.

A wood burning 0-4-0T (Tank) locomotive
weighing 28,270 lbs with 44" drivers and 10" x 16" cylinders, #1 is 17½' long. It operated at a boiler pressure of 125 psi delivering 3,330 lbs tractive effort.

Henry Kirke Porter formed a partnership with John Y. Smith in 1866 to form the Smith & Porter Company, setting up a small machine shop in Pittsburgh, PA, to repair and build industrial equipment. They received an order for their first locomotive the following year from the New Castle Railroad & Mining Company, and built forty-three locomotives together, including the Minnetonka shown earlier on this page.

The partnership ended in 1871 and two further partnerships followed until Porter continued on his own in 1878. The company specialised in building locomotives for small industrial railroads and became the largest US producer of industrial locomotives, building almost eight thousand of them up until 1950. Davenport bought the H. K. Porter locomotive builders in 1950 and produced Porter designs as well as its own until closing in 1956.

Minnesota Steel #7, an 0-4-0T (Tank) locomotive, was built by H. K. Porter in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1915 for the United States Steel Company and spent its entire life switching coal, ore and coke cars at the US Steel Morgan Park plant just south of Duluth, MN.

At 76,000 lbs, it is quite heavy for a four wheel locomotive, but it was designed that way to move heavy loads in restricted clearances around the open hearth. It was designed to be operated by one man.

A coal burner with 44" drivers and 10" x 16" cylinders, #7 operated at a boiler pressure of 125 psi, delivering 3,330 lbs tractive effort.

Electrical components were supplied by General Electric. Drawing on direct current of up to 3,000 volts, the 576,000 lb EF-1s could deliver 3,340 continuous hp, although their top speed as-built was just 35 mph (higher speeds placed too much strain on traction motor armatures).

In 1919, with the arrival of a newer generation of passenger power, the EP-1 locomotives were converted to EF-1 freight locomotives and renumbered #10230-#10241. In this role, they continued in service into the 1970s. #10200 retired in the mid 1970s.

#10200 was donated to the museum in 1977 by the Milwaukee Road.

Built in 1907 by the Russell Car and Snow Plow Company in Ridgeway, PA, this wedge snow plow saw service on the Northern Pacific system into the 1960s. The Hyman-Michaels Co., donated it to the museum, and it was restored by Lake Superior Transportation Club members.

In operation, #19 was propelled by two or three locomotives to push small to moderate snow drifts off rail tracks to the side of the right of way. To clear heavy snow, the locomotives would back up and ram the plow into the snow as fast and as hard as possible. However, the impact at 50-60 mph could derail the plow, so a special crew accompanied it to help rerail it should that be necessary.

The plow is also fitted with a flanger blade
between the wheels to scrape snow from between the tracks that could not be cleared by the front wedge. The blade could be raised and lowered to prevent it snagging switches and track cross
overs.

You can see other wedge snow plows on the National Railroad Museum page of this website and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Train Shed page.

Built by the Cooke Locomotive Works in 1887 for the Northern Pacific, this is the oldest surviving steam powered rotary snow plow in the US.

#2 started work in the Cascades, but moved east to Minnesota when more powerful plows arrived.

The rotary at the
front was operated by the steam engine inside the car, but the plow could not move under its own power. It had to be pushed by three or four locomotives.

With this assistance, it could clear snow drifts as high as 15'.

Duluth & Northern Minnesota #14 is a Mikado type (2-8-2) locomotive built in 1913 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, PA. The D&NM, chartered in 1898, was the common carrier for the Alger-Smith logging company.

With an engine wheelbase of 28' 5" and driver wheelbase of 14', #14 weighs 178,000 lbs, 137,000 lbs on its 51" drivers. It has 20" x 28" cylinders, a 41.3 sq ft grate, 153 sq ft firebox and total heating surface of 3,299 sq ft. Designed to haul freight, it operated at a boiler pressure of 200 psi delivering 37,333 lbs tractive effort.

For some years, the D&NM's one hundred mile line was the only land transport link along Lake Superior north of Duluth.

The D&NM also ran limited passenger services, and #14 may have hauled some of these in its short life with the railroad.

In 1919, as Alger-Smith's logging activity wound down, #14 was sold to the Lake Superior & Ishpeming. Forty years later, it was sold on to the Inland Lime & Stone Company at Gulliver, WI.

Built in 1907 by Alco's Brooks Works in Dunkirk, NY, for the Northern Pacific, this T Class Prairie type (2-6-2) locomotive was designed for light freight service.

The first Prairie locomotives were built by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in 1900 and that railroad continued to build and purchase many of the type through to 1912. The Northern Pacific was familiar with the CB&Q Prairies and apparently impressed by their ability to haul fast freight as well as to work branch lines.

The railroad took delivery of its first twenty 2-6-2s in 1906 (#2300-#2319) and, by the following year, had amassed one hundred and fifty of them (#2300-#2449). They were assigned initially to the company's eastern divisions but, by 1908, were running on all the divisions except
Seattle.

Weighing 209,500 lbs, 152,000 lbs on 63" drivers, #2435 has Stephenson valve gear and 21" x 28" cylinders. It has an engine wheelbase of 28' 11" and driver wheelbase of 11'. With a 43.5 sq ft grate, 235 sq ft firebox and total heating surface of 2,340 sq ft, it operated at a boiler pressure of 200 psi, delivering 35,000 lbs tractive effort. Over the years, several different tenders were used on the T class.

With the advent of faster and larger locomotives, #2435 was transferred to switching and transfer duties. Retired in 1954, it was donated to the City of Duluth and went on display at the city zoo. It was donated to the museum by the City of Duluth in 1978.

#4211 is one of two hundred and nine F9
diesel-electric locomotives built between 1953
and 1960 by EMD, ninety-nine A units, and one hundred and ten cabless B units. A further
forty-six B units were built for Canadian railroads by EMD's subsidiary, GMD of London, Ontario in Canada.

The 23,000 lb F9 A units have Winton 567C 16 cylinder prime movers and GM D12D generators powering four GM D37 traction motors. Starting tractive effort is 56,500 lbs at 25%. Continuous tractive effort is 40,000 lbs at 9.3 mph.

Originally numbered #101, #4211 was purchased brand new by the Erie Mining Company in 1956.

It spent its entire life working for the company before being donated to the museum in 2002.

Three hundred and twenty-four FP7s were built by EMD from 1949 to 1953, the majority for US railroads, as well as fifty-seven for Canadian railroads by GMD of London, ON. A number have survived. You can see other FP7s on the North Carolina Transportation Museum page of this website and the Steamtown Yard page.

#7001 was later bought by the Soo Line, along with two cabless F7B units. As #2500, the unit regularly hauled The Laker passenger train between Duluth, MN, and Chicago, IL. It was donated to the museum in 1986 by the Soo Line.

This 1,500 hp diesel electric was built at EMD's La Grange, IL, plant as FP7 #7001 demonstrator in 1949 (the "FP" indicates it a dual purpose freight and passenger unit). The FP7 was basically an F7A unit extended by 4' to provide water capacity for a steam generator to heat passenger trains.

Like the F7, the FP7 had a Winton 567B 16
cylinder prime mover and GM D12D main
generator powering four GM D27 traction motors delivering 64,000 lbs starting tractive effort at 25% and 40,000 lbs continuous tractive effort at 9.3
mph. The unit is 54' long and weighs 258,000 lbs. It had a top speed of 65 mph. #2500 occasionally pulls excursions on the North Shore Scenic Railroad.

The exterior was repainted and mechanical restoration was completed in 1995.

#192 was purchased by the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in 1996

#192 is one of ten 900 hp NW5 diesel electric locomotives bought by the Great Northern from EMD between 1946 and 1947. Only thirteen NW5s were ever produced: a further two for the Union Belt of Detroit and one for Southern Railway.

All ten GN NW5s survived the Burlington Northern Railroad merger, and most continued in service until 1982. #192 was then sold to the Colorado & Eastern, passed to the Kyle Railroad and on to Iowa Southern.

Like EMD's NW3 unit, the NW5 was basically an EMD NW2 switcher with a 12 cylinder EMD 567 diesel engine and main generator set on a stretched frame with standard EMD Blomberg B design road trucks. With a GM D7 main generator powering four GM D37 traction motors, one on each axle, it delivered starting traction of 52,300 lbs at 25% and continuous tractive effort of 31,000 lbs at 11 mph. It had a top speed of 65 mph.

Large, road-sized fuel and water tanks were fitted between the trucks under the frame, and NW5s were also equipped with a steam generator to heat passenger cars fitted in the sloping hood behind the cab visible in the two lower photos on the left.

In 1970, #400 became Burlington Northern #6430 but, at the request of railfans and employees, it kept its "Hustle Muscle" nickname.

In 1986, the locomotive was retired and donated to the Great Northern Railway Historical Society. Three years later, it was repainted to its original GN #400 livery at the BNSF shops in Grand Forks, ND, and moved to the museum.

When I last visited, #403 appeared to be undergoing restoration.

Built by the short lived Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation in 1956, this is one of four S12 switchers built for the Erie Mining Company, and it was the last locomotive to leave Baldwin's Eddystone, PA, plant before it closed. Built as Erie Mining #403, it cost just under $115,000.

The Erie Mining Company was formed in 1940 to establish the commercial feasibility of Taconite mining in Iron Mountain, MN. Construction of a pellet plant at Hoyt Lake and a 1,200' ore dock and related buildings at Taconite Harbor was begun in 1954 and completed in 1957. The railroad's seventy-two mile line ran from Hoyt Lake to Taconite Harbor on Lake Superior.

Four hundred and fifty-two S-12s were built from 1951 to 1956, all for US railroads. Powered by a 6 cylinder 606A diesel engine prime mover, they delivered 1,200 hp. You can see one of the first two demonstrator units, Baldwin S-12 #1200, on the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Yard page of this website.

One hundred and fourteen SD18s were built from 1960 to 1963, nineteen for the DM&IR, thirty-five for other US railroads and sixty for export. They weigh 390,000 lbs and have a 567D1 16 cylinder prime mover and GM D22 main generator powering six GM D47 traction motors delivering starting tractive effort of 97,500 lbs at 25% and continuous tractive effort of 67,500 lbs at 9.3 mph.

In 1970, the DM&IR chopped #186's nose down and reclassified it as an SD-M. In 1990, it was renumbered #316 and was donated to the museum in 2008.