Duluth and Northeastern 29 is a preserved

0-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangemen ...

switcher

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

built in 1944 by the Lima Locomotive Works for the United States Army Transportation Corps. It is currently owned and operated by the Prairie Village, Herman and Milwaukee Railroad in Prairie Village, South Dakota.

History

Revenue service

No. 29 was initially constructed by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio in January 1944 for the United States War Department during World War II as locomotive No. 4047. It was part of the S155 class 0-6-0 switchers, designed to be used for military service in the Far East, Africa, and Europe, but No. 4047 remained on North American soil. The locomotive was instead used for switching in United States military bases. After the war, the locomotive was sold in March 1947 to the Bay Terminal Railroad (BTR), who renumbered it to 111. The BTR used the locomotive to switch freight cars between different areas in

rail yards A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...

and harbors within the city of Toledo, Ohio. In August 1955, No. 111 was sold again to the Iron and Steel Processing Corporation, who in turn, sold it in April the following year to the Duluth and Northeastern Railroad (D&NE), where the locomotive was renumbered to 29. The locomotive was moved to D&NE trackage in Cloquet, Minnesota, where it was assigned to switch freight cars loaded with lumber. It was retired from revenue service in 1965, and it was subsequently stored in a sideline in Cloquet.

Preservation

In 1970, No. 29 was sold to Earl Grice of

North Mankato, Minnesota North Mankato ( ) is a city in Nicollet and Blue Earth counties in the State of Minnesota. The population was 14,275 at the 2020 census. Most of North Mankato is in Nicollet County, but a small part extends into Blue Earth County. It is neig ...

. In 1976, the locomotive was sold again to the Historic Prairie Village, Herman and Milwaukee Railroad (PVH&M), who operates on former

Milwaukee Road The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States fr ...

trackage in Prairie Village near

Lake Herman State Park Lake Herman State Park is a South Dakota state park in Lake County, South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named ...

in South Dakota. The locomotive was moved to Prairie Village the following year, and work began to restore the locomotive to operating condition. The No. 29 locomotive was subsequently used to pull 2-mile tourist trains in and out of Prairie Village. In 1999, though, No. 29 was removed from service after problems with its firebox were discovered. PVH&M crews subsequently spent the next thirteen years repairing the locomotive's firebox, and in 2013, the locomotive returned to service. As of 2023, No. 29 remains operational, carrying several passengers on a loop track line around Prairie Village, and whenever the winter season arrives, No. 29 is stored indoors along with the PVH&M's diesel locomotives.

References

{{reflist Lima locomotives United States Army locomotives 0-6-0 locomotives Preserved steam locomotives of South Dakota Individual locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1944 Standard gauge locomotives of the United States

History

Revenue service

Preservation

See also

References