Sometime in the 1950s, the Soo Line donated 2-8-0 No. 2425 to the City of Enderlin, North Dakota. By the year 2000, the locomotive had become a problem to the city. Piles of asbestos sat underneath the locomotive, its jacketing had rusted through in a hundred places.

The city constructed what could only be described as a containment building around the locomotive, designed to keep the asbestos in and people out. When I visited Enderlin in August 2000 in a mad roadtrip to see how many steam locomotives I could photograph in a week, I was able to get the following photo by sticking the camera's lens through a pre-existing hole in the plastic sheeting that formed the sides of the building.



The folks at Iron Horse Central, the locomotive's new owners tell her story here, and it makes a fascinating read.

http://www.ironhorsecentral.com/about26.html

While at Lindstrom Saturday, to enjoy the operation of No. 4, the ex-Dresser Trap Rock O-4-0, I got the following pictures.

Yes things do become a problem when you spend no money whatsoever on them, the city should be rightfully ashamed.

Mike Pannell

Well, it looks slightly better now. At least it doesn't look like a pile of wet toilet paper was stuck to the cylinders... The folks at Iron Horse Central should at least be happy that they are able to stave off further decay.

Iron Horse Central is a wonderful place: the people, the atmosphere, the equipment make it eminently worth the visit. When we arrived, the little 0-4-0 sat simmering in the morning sun, wispy grey smoke drifting from its stack, steam jetting from the dynamo, and the air compressor thumping pleasantly.

My little granddaughter looked in awe and said, "Grandpa it is soooo beautiful! Is it alive?"

That is probably one of the most difficult to read web pages I've ever read all the way through. Let's hope she gets some well deserved attention.

I fixed the webpage on the 2425, The text is actually the article I wrote that ended up in the Soo Line Historical publication. Fixing this page was on my "to do" list. Hopefully now it is a better read. The 2425 is also scheduled for welding to be done on its re-unification process yet this year. Next year will be sandblasting, painting, etc. Thank you for your interest.
-Erik Thompson

Erik, great to see you on here! My granddaughter has informed me that we "hafta come back" anytime the steam locomotive runs. It was a wonderful, delightful experience, and I most sincerely want to compliment you on all you've accomplished.