F
or three days in September 2015, the Upper Midwest was the place to be for fans of EMD’s classic
20-cylinder, 3,600-horsepower SD45 locomotives. More than a year in the making, this once-in-a-lifetime event featured restored SD45s on two tourist railroads — the Lake Superior Railroad Museum’s North Shore Scenic in Duluth, Minn., and the Osceola & St. Croix Valley at Osceola, Wis. — as well as a pair of matching SD40M-2s (in SD45 carbodies) on the St. Croix Valley short line at Rush City, Minn. The event was organized by author and photographer Steve Glischinski. Thursday, September 10, kicked off
the event with EMD’s first production SD45, Great Northern No. 400 named Hustle Muscle, pulling a matched train of GN Omaha Orange and Pullman Green passenger cars over the Osceola & St. Croix Valley. Operated by Minnesota Transportation Museum, O&StCV trains run over a surviving segment of Soo Line’s former St. Paul-to-Duluth
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mainline (now owned by CN) between Marine, Minn., and the end of the line at Dresser, Wis. Hustle Muscle, which was delivered in May 1966, is owned by the Great Northern Railway Historical Society and is normally kept indoors at the Jackson Street Roundhouse in St. Paul. For many in attendance, the train recreated the look and feel of GN’s International of 1966, which operated between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. After a rainy start, the clouds parted
as No. 400 backed from Osceola to the St. Croix River bridge, where the “shot of the day” was staged on the Minnesota-Wisconsin border, complete with a fisherman (retired GN conductor Gary Nelson). After additional photo stops, the charter proceeded to Dresser where it was to be turned on the wye and positioned for afternoon photos. However, it was quickly discovered that CN had decided to replace the grade crossing in Dresser, blocking access to the wye. Fast thinking on the part of the MTM crew saved the day; the train
backed to Osceola where former GN SDP40-2 No. 325 (still in BN colors) was tacked onto the rear end, allowing for several afternoon shots along the St. Croix River bluffs south of Osceola. Friday, September 11, started off with
clear skies in Hinckley, Minn., on the St. Croix Valley Railroad’s ex-Northern Pacific “Skally” line, which runs for 36 miles between the BNSF interchange in Hinckley and downtown North Branch; the railroad’s shop, yard, and office are located midway along the line in Rush City. In 2014 the railroad placed a pair of rebuilt SD45s in service, former Denver & Rio Grande Western No. 3553 and Southern Pacific No. 8840, which are now SCXY Nos. 1325 and 1326, respectively, and classified as SD40M-2s. Both were
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