Museum volunteers return Northern Pacific SD45 to operation

DULUTH, Minn. — Volunteers at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum have returned Northern Pacific SD45 No. 3617 to operating condition. The locomotive was started up and moved under its own power at the museum on Feb. 27, the first time it has operated in more than 14 years. The locomotive was donated to the museum by Canadian National in 2007 after service on Wisconsin Central and CN. Wisconsin Central had upgraded the unit in 1995 with an EM2000 microprocessor electric control system, but when the engine was donated many of the components were missing.

Volunteer Greg LeJeune spearheaded the effort to restore the locomotive and worked with several railroads, volunteers, and parts dealers to get the necessary hardware donated and installed. Volunteers were able to effect repairs on the prime mover, connected the alternator and traction motor wiring, re-installed the class light fixtures and repaired the nose-mounted Mars light. BNSF Railway and Union Pacific made mechanical donations to assist the effort. Volunteers came from a number of railroads and locomotive dealers to help out, including D&I Railroad, DMVW Railroad, and Independent Locomotive Service.

“It was really exciting to see it running again,” LeJeune said. “Some of our volunteers were over the moon to see it move under its own power, since we didn’t expect to do that right away.”

The restoration began about four years ago, and really kicked in after more funding became available. “It’s really hard to get the right people to give money,” LeJeune says. The effort also got into high gear as more volunteers came on board, including Tim Smith from D&I and Mike Nesbitt of Independent Locomotive Service, who is also an LSRM board member.

The restoration was a group effort. For example, former WC and current CN locomotive engineer Kent Rengo wrote one of the letters requesting the donation. Stuart Olson, formerly of the DMVW Railroad, assisted mechanically and reached out to Joe Whitmer, locomotive electrician for the DMVW who had worked for WC and had experience on SD45s. Ed Duke of Jessup Diesel completed the generator alignment. LSRM board member Gordon Mott was a major financial donor for the project, as were museum members. The Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association also contributed to the effort.

No. 3617 was built by EMD in 1967, one of 30 SD45s built for NP in 1967 and 1968. Another 20 SD45s were on order at the time of the Burlington Northern merger in 1970 but were delivered to BN. Numbered to reflect their 3,600 horsepower, they were the most powerful diesels on NP. No. 3617 worked for Northern Pacific just short of three years before becoming Burlington Northern 6417 in 1970. It worked for BN until March 1987 when it was retired.

When Wisconsin Central Ltd. began operations in October 1987, the locomotive went to work as WC 6417, then WC 6495, and finally No. 7495. In June 2007, Canadian National, which acquired WC in October 2001, donated it to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum still wearing Wisconsin Central colors. In 2015 the SD45 was repainted into Northern Pacific colors at no cost to the museum by the Northern Plains Railroad at its shop in Fordville, N.D. Prior to shipment to Fordville, museum volunteers restored the round-cornered side windows and installed the gyrating Mars warning light that were extra features on all Northern Pacific SD45s.

“We are trying to do “the little things” to make the unit authentic,” LeJeune says. These include installing the class lights, EMD builders’ plates (which will be taken on and off for special events with decals replacing them in between), and tracking down authentic NP-style rear-view mirrors and visors (this effort is ongoing). LeJeune hopes No. 3617 will be able pull trains on a regular basis by fall, but that will depend on financing and completing the many smaller items that still need attention.

NP 3617 is one of two operating SD45s at the Museum. Great Northern Railway No. 400, “Hustle Muscle” the first production SD45 built in 1996, is owned by the Great Northern Railway Historical Society. It is often used to pull excursion trains or storage cars on the Museum’s North Shore Scenic Railroad.

To pay for the NP project the museum started the “Power-Up No. 3617 with $45 for the SD45” campaign, asking for donations of at least $45. For more information or to donate go to www.powerup3617.com.