Soo Line 1003

Infobox Locomotive
name=Soo Line 1003
powertype=Steam


caption=Soo 1003 operating in the rain at WSOR's 25th anniversary party in Madison, Wisconsin, on July 23 2005
whytetype=2-8-2
gauge=RailGauge|ussg|lk=on
railroad=Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway (“Soo Line”)
locale=United States Upper Midwest
builddate=March 1913
builder=Schenectady plant of American Locomotive Company (ALCO)
serialnumber = 52826
retiredate=1954
leadingsize=convert|33|in|m|3|abbr=on
driversize=convert|63|in|m|3|abbr=on
trailingsize=convert|42|in|m|3|abbr=on
tenderc
convert|17.5|ST|t|1 of coal;
convert|10000|usgal|L
weight=convert|290000|lb|t|abbr=on
boilerpressure=convert|170|psi|MPa|2|abbr=on|lk=on
cylindercount=Two, outside
cylindersize=28 × 30 in (711 × 762 mm)
tractiveeffort=convert|53940|lbf|kN|2|abbr=on|lk=on
railroadclass=L-1
numinclass=10
restoredate=October 27 1996
currentowner=1003 Operations, LLP
disposition=operated in occasional excursion service

Soo Line 1003 is a restored 2-8-2 Mikado type steam locomotive of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway (“Soo Line”) L-1 class. It is occasionally operated on the major railroads of the American Upper Midwest.

The locomotive was built in 1913 by ALCO. It was used by the Soo Line until retirement in 1954, when it went into serviceable storage in Gladstone, Michigan as part of the railroad's strategic reserve. In December 1959, the railroad donated the locomotive to the city of Superior, Wisconsin, where it was put on public display. In the mid 1970s, Superior Shortline Steam Railroad Ltd. was organized to restore the locomotive to operations.

It made a few short runs in 1983 in Superior before going back in for a major overhaul. The work slowed due a lack of money and some notable errors (including ordering boiler flues that were three quarters of an inch too short). The locomotive was sold partially disassembled in 1994 to Wisconsin Railway Preservation Trust (WRPT), another organization whose goal was to return the locomotive to operations. WRPT raised $250,000 for the locomotive's restoration. It was originally hoped that the locomotive could be used for excursion trips on the weekend of October 5 1996, but boiler tests showed the engine to not be ready in time.

The 1003's first run after restoration under its own power occurred on October 27 1996, when it steamed up the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway's Proctor Hill. It performed a few more test runs before its first public excursion in 1997.

References

*

External links

* [http://www.steamphotos.com/gallery/3703588 Soo Line 1003 Photos]
* [http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?road_number=SOO%201003 over 100 Soo Line 1003 pictures]