Greetings! I was traveling through Proctor Mn on Sunday and I stopped at the DM&IR Yellowstone on display on US hwy 2 in Proctor MN. We stopped to have a picnic lunch there and take a look at the locomotive on display. We had a nice time despite having a woman who worked at the golf course where the locomotive shares the parking lot treat me like I was some lowlife vagrant for parking my RV in their lot. While I was there, I was approached by a county commission member who asked if I would be willing to write a letter to the Proctor tourisum department c/o the county court house, Proctor MN. She said that the dept of tourism was unwilling to spend any funds on the upkeep of the locomotive and asked that anyone willing to please send letters to them urging them that the locomotive is a worthy effort and icon for their town that should be properly cared for. I said that I would send a letter and that I would pass the word on. By the way, the locomotive looks pretty good, but could of course use fresh paint, cab windows and a roof. Steve

As a by note, the Proctor roundhouse (with a newer attatched diesel house) is still fully intact and in use. It remains to be seen whether it will survive acquisition by CN, but something to think about for the future. In nearby Two Harbors, the roundhouse and backshop (which repaired the big Yellowstones) is still extant, but in poor condition. Initial plans there called for total removal of the structures, but this may have changed, due to the cost of doing so. One developer has said he'd like to save and utilize the buildings somehow. Of course, a move to put Proctor's locomotive in a building at Two Harbors (which also has a Yellowstone, sheltered) would probably bring out community rivalries, though some kind of indoor storage would be best for the locomotive.http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/dulut ... story2.htm

As a further note, the steam tugboat shown in the link above is the Edna G. Built in 1896 for the DM&IR; and also perserved as a museum.-James Hefner Hebrews 10:20a Surviving World Steam Project

This one sounds like a no-brainer. The DM&IR 2-8-8-4's were among the largest and most powerful steam locomotives ever built. They were not as well known becuase they worked in a hard to reach region, but they rival the UP Big Boy's and C&O Allegheny's for size and power. They were among Baldwin's finest articulated steam power. I would be only too pleased to send a letter to the powers that be in Two Harbors on this issue. On a humorous note, if they really don't care about the locomotive, they could at least donate it to the B&O Museum where it could be cosmetically altered to resemble B&O EM-1 #7625 also built by Baldwin about the same time.

Those Yellowstones are also linked to the Western Pacific's overlooked 2-8-8-2s. When the Missabe went looking for big power, they chose the WP design. They ended up as 2-8-8-4s because the Missabe wanted a larger cab and other modifications, and they got different tenders. But, overall, they are very close in design to the Big Wamps.Very impressive machines. I've seen the engine in Proctor. She deserves to be treated well.Eugene

She said to send it to the "Proctor Department of Tourism" c/o the proctor court house, 55810. She said that it would get to the correct folks. In doing some research, I have cut and paste a portion of the meeting minutes from May 19 2003. "Motion by Larson, seconded by Kieren and carried: To direct City Attorney to draft a resolution requiring the Tourism Committee to expend funds from the lodging tax for the preservation/ maintenance of Proctor?s tourist attractions, i.e. plane, Mallet, Caboose, with Council adopting an ordinance which will then take the place of this resolution, and that Tourism Committee set up a separate fund (say 10% of tourism annual tax receipts). M-215-03-401 " Judging by her request, it seems that this has yet to take place and she felt that if there were some outside pressure and interest in the items, that it would show the tourism committee that it is in the best interest of the city to keep these artifacts in good condition. The plane on display there is a Minnesota Air National Guard F-101 on a post dedicated to fallen serviceman from Minnesota. Steve