The American Heartland Railroad Society announced on September 13 that it was pulling out of a partnership with the Sioux City Railroad Museum to restore Great Northern Railway H-5s 4-6-2 1355. In a press release, the group’s leadership offered few details about why it was leaving the project, except to say that the “situation has become untenable.” 

“We believe it is in the best interest of our organization to step away from the project so that we can focus our time, resources, and energy on other important preservation efforts,” the press release read. 

AHRS officials added that they would instead double down on other projects, including one to restore Union Pacific SD40-2 3593 to its “Desert Victory” livery and a Milwaukee Road covered hopper. 

While AHRS is no longer involved, officials with the Sioux City Railroad Museum said they were moving forward with the restoration of 1355. The group has secured funding from the National Park Service and is still working with a contractor, RDG Steam Services, on the restoration. 

Locomotive 1355 began life as a 4-6-0 in 1909 and was assigned to passenger service out of Spokane, Wash. In 1924, the locomotive was sent east to St. Paul, Minn., where the railroad rebuilt it as a 4-6-2, with a larger boiler, cylinders and firebox. The locomotive was designated an H-5s at that time. A year later, it was converted from being a coal burner to an oil burner. The locomotive was assigned to the Butte Division in Montana, where it led some of the GN’s finest passenger trains, including the Empire Builder and Oriental Limited. In 1950, the locomotive was sent to Minnesota to work in freight service before being retired in 1955. At about the same time, the community of Sioux City, Iowa, requested a locomotive from the GN for display. Locomotive 1355 was selected and sent south to Iowa, where it has been ever since. 

—Justin Franz