Soo Line steam locomotive finally relocated NEWSWIRE

Chisago City, Minn. — It’s taken a year, but Soo Line 2-8-0 No. 2425 finally made the move from Ironhorse Railroad Park in Minnesota to its new home at the Mineral Range Railroad in Ishpeming, Mich.

After its retirement in January 1955, No. 2425 was donated to the city of Enderlin, N.D., and put on display in a city park. After years outdoors, city officials became concerned about asbestos insulation leaking from beneath the boiler jacket. Unsure how to handle this, they built a structure to completely enclose the engine and tender.

In 2005, Ironhorse Railroad Park offered to buy the locomotive and move it to the museum site, but it took until 2008 to close the deal. Once at the museum, an inspection revealed the locomotive was in good restorable condition despite its age and years of outdoor display in harsh winter conditions.

Soo Line No. 2425 was built by Alco’s Schenectady Works in 1909 and retired in January 1955. Clint Jones, owner of the Mineral Range, purchased the locomotive from Ironhorse in 2018, intending to move it as soon as possible, but it took a year to arrange the move. The locomotive’s boiler and cab were loaded on one rig, while a second carried third carried the wheels and frame. The tender, which is in poor condition, did not accompany the locomotive on the move to Michigan.

Jones, who has owned other steam locomotives, plans to restore No. 2425 for occasional use on the Mineral Range Railroad, according to reports.