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| This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(May 2016) |
| Great Northern 400 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 GN 400 after arriving in Duluth, June 7, 2019. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| On operational lease to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Great Northern 400, nicknamed Hustle Muscle, is a restored SD45 diesel locomotive originally owned by the Great Northern (GN). It was built in 1966 as the first production SD45 by Electro-Motive Division.
GN 400 was the first of eight SD45s (400-407) delivered to the Great Northern in May and June 1966. Great Northern was the first railroad company to purchase this model of locomotive. [1] GN 400 was the fourth SD45 built by EMD after the first three demonstrators. Great Northern christened it with its nickname, "Hustle Muscle." [2] All eight SD45s wore Great Northern's simplified orange and green paint scheme, but only 400 wore a nickname. In total, Great Northern owned 27 SD45s built from 1966 through 1968.
In 1970, the GN became part of the Burlington Northern (BN). The locomotive was renumbered to 6430, but through 1972 it still wore its GN paint, with the GN logos removed. In 1973, the locomotive underwent a massive "class-one overhaul", and was painted into BN's cascade green scheme. At the request of railfans, BN kept its nickname painted on both sides of its long hood. [3]
The BN retired 6430 in 1986 and donated the locomotive to the Great Northern Railway Historical Society. In 1989, the locomotive was repainted back into its original GN appearance and renumbered back to 400 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The locomotive was then kept in Duluth, Minnesota on display and in operation until the early 2000s when it was moved to the former Great Northern Jackson Street Roundhouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which houses the Minnesota Transportation Museum. [4] In 2006, the 400 was repainted a second time in Horicon, Wisconsin. The second repaint was completed using the locomotive's original EMD and GN diagrams. The locomotive was housed at the Minnesota Transportation Museum's Jackson Street Roundhouse, where the 400 was serviced while operating for the Great Northern Railway in the 1960s.
Prior to moving to Duluth for the first time, it was displayed in LaGrange, IL in September 1989 for EMD's 50th Anniversary of the FT diesel, along with other EMD power. [5] The locomotive then operated on the North Shore Scenic Railroad, usually for special events. After moving from Duluth to St. Paul, the locomotive was called into duty for special excursions, including operating with Milwaukee Road 261 [6] and pulling Great Northern Railway Historical Society and National Railway Historical Society charters. In 2001, it operated on a circle tour with the 261 from the Twin Cities to Superior, then west through Brainerd then south through Staples, and east back to the Twin Cities through St. Cloud.
It was featured in the 2002 "Railroad Days" in Galesburg, IL. [7] It pulled a National Railway Historical Society excursion from the Twin Cities to Duluth in 2009 and running some excursions and photo trips on the North Shore Scenic Railroad. Otherwise, 400 was often displayed inside MTM's roundhouse. [8] It was ferried in 2006 to the Wisconsin Southern for a repaint and returned to the Minnesota Transportation Museum in 2007. [9]
In 2015 the Minnesota Transportation Museum and the Great Northern Railway Historical Society signed a two-year operating lease to have the 400 operate on MTM's Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway in Osceola, WI. [10]
GN 400 operated during the 2015 and 2016 excursion seasons, including a special for the 2015 Great Northern Convention. It was often set aside just for special runs. [11] [12]
In 2019, following its third restoration, the GNRHS and Lake Superior Railroad Museum agreed to have the locomotive returned to Duluth, MN for display and operation. It was displayed in Dilworth, MN during the 2019 Great Northern Convention in Fargo, ND, before returning to Duluth for operation. The locomotive is currently displayed at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum, operating usually just for special events.
In 2014, 2015, and 2022 the locomotive was displayed for "Train Days" events at Saint Paul Union Depot.
In May 2017, while undergoing routine maintenance in preparation for the 2017 Osceola excursion season, the 400 suffered a crankshaft failure in its original 20-645E engine requiring a replacement engine to be installed. BNSF Railway overhauled a 20-645E engine from a retired former Santa Fe SD45-2 and donated and installed the new engine in January 2019 at no cost to the museum or historical society. The 400's engine replacement was completed in April 2019 and the locomotive operated under its own power for the first time with its new engine. [13]
The Great Northern Railway was an American Class I railroad. Running from Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington, it was the creation of 19th-century railroad entrepreneur James J. Hill and was developed from the Saint Paul & Pacific Railroad. The Great Northern's route was the northernmost transcontinental railroad route in the U.S.
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and also in Texas through subsidiaries Colorado and Southern Railway, Fort Worth and Denver Railway, and Burlington-Rock Island Railroad. Its primary connections included Chicago, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver. Because of this extensive trackage in the midwest and mountain states, the railroad used the advertising slogans "Everywhere West", "Way of the Zephyrs", and "The Way West".
The Minnesota Transportation Museum is a transportation museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States.
Milwaukee Road 261 is a class "S3" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York in July 1944 for the Milwaukee Road.
The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over 12,000 miles (19,000 km) of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s. Until 1972, when the employees purchased the company, it was named the Chicago and North Western Railway.
The EMD GP30 is a 2,250 hp (1,680 kW) four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between July 1961 and November 1963. A total of 948 units were built for railroads in the United States and Canada, including 40 cabless B units for the Union Pacific Railroad.
The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway (DM&IR), informally known as the Missabe Road, was a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that used to haul iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota. Control of the railway was acquired on May 10, 2004, by the Canadian National Railway (CN) when it purchased the assets of Great Lakes Transportation.
The EMD NW5 was a 1,000 hp (750 kW) road switcher diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between December 1946 and February 1947.
The EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1954 and 1959. The GP9 succeeded the GP7 as the second model of EMD's General Purpose (GP) line, incorporating a new sixteen-cylinder engine which generated 1,750 horsepower (1.30 MW). This locomotive type was offered both with and without control cabs; locomotives built without control cabs were called GP9B locomotives.
The EMD SD40 is an American 6-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between January 1966 and August 1972. 1,268 locomotives were built between 1966 and 1972. In 1972, an improved version with new electronics was developed and marketed as a new locomotive, the SD40-2.
An SDP40 is a 6-axle passenger diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) between June 1966 and May 1970.
The SD45 is a six-axle diesel-electric locomotive class built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1965 and 1971. It has an EMD 645E3 twenty-cylinder engine generating 3,600 hp (2,680 kW) on the same frame as the SD38, SD39, SD40, and SDP40. As of 2023, most SD45s have been retired, scrapped or rebuilt to SD40-2 standards.
The EMD F45 is a C-C cowled diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between 1968 and 1971. Power was provided by an EMD 645E3 20-cylinder engine which generated 3,600 hp (2,680 kW).
The SD45T-2 is a model of diesel-electric locomotive built by EMD for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Like the later SD40T-2 it is colloquially nicknamed a tunnel motor. 247 total units were produced from February 1972 to June 1975, including 84 for SP's subsidiary Cotton Belt. From April 1986 to December 1989, 126 were rebuilt and re-designated as SD45T-2R, including 24 for Cotton Belt.
The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is a railroad museum in Duluth, Minnesota, United States.
The North Shore Scenic Railroad is a heritage railroad that operates between Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota, United States, along 28 miles (45 km) of the Lakefront Line, once part of the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railroad.
Soo Line 2719 is a 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for use on passenger trains operated by the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway. No. 2719 was used to haul the Soo Line's last steam-powered train, a June 21, 1959 round-trip excursion between Minneapolis, Minnesota and Ladysmith, Wisconsin. It was then displayed in Eau Claire, Wisconsin until 1996. It was restored and operated in excursion service from 1998 until 2013 when its boiler certificate expired. Today, the locomotive remains on static display in Duluth, Minnesota.
The St. Croix Valley Railroad is a Class III short line railroad that operates over 36 miles of track in eastern Minnesota. The railroad is owned by KBN Incorporated jointly between Independent Locomotive Service of Bethel MN and Midwest Locomotive Services of Atwater MN, with the railroad headquartered in Rush City, Minnesota.
Northern Pacific 3617 is a restored SD45 diesel locomotive originally owned by the Northern Pacific. It was built in 1967 to replace older locomotives that were "trade-ins" for new units in the 1960s. Since 2007, NP 3617 has resided at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum, and was restored to operational condition in March 2021.
Duluth and Northern Minnesota No. 14 is a preserved MK class 2-8-2 light "Mikado" built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Duluth and Northern Minnesota Railroad in 1913. In 1919, the D&NM declared bankrupt, and the locomotive was sold to the Michigan-based Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad, to operate there as No. 22. It was renumbered back to 14 in 1923. In 1959, No. 14 was sold to the Inland Stone Division of Inland Steel Company, another Michigan-based corporation, and it operated there until 1966. In 1974, it was transferred to the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway, and then it was donated to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in 1981. The locomotive was restored to operation for use on the museum's North Shore Scenic Railroad between 1992 and 1998. As of 2024, No. 14 remains on static display inside the museum in Duluth, Minnesota.
Visitors can see ... the Hustle Muscle
