By Eric Berger

DULUTH, Minn. — After nearly seven decades of moving heavy freight, one of the last First Generation diesels on the roster of a Class I railroad is retiring to a new career hauling passengers in Minnesota. Lake Superior Railroad Museum announced on April 12 that it will become the new home of rebuilt SD9 BNSF 1550, thanks to a generous donation by BNSF Railway.

The engine will go to Duluth museum when work on the main generator is completed by longtime museum benefactor Independent Locomotive Services. Once it arrives, it will join the pool of rare locomotives that pull excursion trains along Lake Superior on the museum’s North Shore Scenic Railroad.

Built as Great Northern 573 in 1954, the engine was employed hauling ore to the docks at Superior, Wisc., until the Burlington Northern merger in 1970.  It was renumbered BN 6100 and was based in Minnesota’s Twin Cities area through the BN era. During the motive power assessment at the time of the BNSF merger, it was one of four SD9s selected for rebuilding by VMW with modern electronics, a new cab with low short hood and remote control capability.

Completed in 1999 and re-classed as an SD9-3, the 6100 and its sisters would spend the next two decades in hump and yard service, ultimately renumbered as BNSF 1551-1553.

After spending her final active years based in Washington state, BNSF 1550 returned to Minneapolis in 2019 to join the lengthy lines of stored engines at Northville Yard. As is so often the case with locomotive rescues, a single individual played a key role in arranging the donation, in this case veteran BNSF employee and LSRM member Richard Knutson.

The 1550 will share duties with near lookalike DMIR 193, a low-nose SD18. Other rarities running on the North Shore line include ‘torpedo tube’ equipped ex-Northern Pacific GP9 NSSR 245, GP30 Soo 700 and Great Northern 192, a 1946-vintage NW5.

Also in the wings at LSRM is DMIR 332, a 1906 Alco 2-8-0 consolidation, which has been sidelined for the past two years. Final recertification by the Federal Railroad Administration is expected by late spring or early summer, with limited excursion service expected to begin in August. Station Manager Josh Miller noted that heavy ticket demand is anticipated and urged fans to make purchases early once they become available.

Prospective volunteers to help and join the crew should contact Ken Buehler, LSRM executive director, at kenbuehler@lsrm.org.