At Minneapolis, 6/29/47:

http://abpr2.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi? ... oo440a.jpg

No data on this one:

http://abpr2.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi? ... soo440.jpg

Same locomotive in Harvey, ND in 1999:

I saw this engine recently on a road trip. For being such a rural location, I'd like to know who is taking care of it? It looks great!

It would be a neat thing to see it and the 2719 and the 1009 all running together

Asbestos removed, headlight reflectors intact, painted. I wonder what the cab interior looks like, and if the parts are preserved?

No one mentioned the obvious relocation of the engine. What are the details, and perhaps that is when a cosmetic job was done?

I don't think it was relocated... I see what looks like the same elevator in the background in both the "before" and "after" photos. It just looks like another building that shows in the background in the earlier photo has been torn down, but I could be wrong.

I e-mailed Ken Soroos of the Soo Line Historical & Technical Society about this, as I recognize the quality of the cab numbers. Ken has been doing lettering art for various society decal and model projects for over thirty years now, and has quite a collection of lettering art, much of it drawn from flat-on photos of the actual lettering. Yes, the local group contacted the society, which lead to Ken. Here is what he had to say:


Hi Dennis -

The group working on the 440 in Harvey was local. They contacted me and I sent patterns for the cab numbers, headlight stencil numbers and the tender herald. I think I sent the class lettering too. I agree that somehow they made the tender herald too small. I don't know how, because I'm sure I sent a full-size rolled-up pattern for them and a placement diagram. Anyway, overall they did a pretty good job, but I haven't been to Harvey since they repainted it. I can look back at really old e-mails and see if I can find the name of the gentleman who contacted me.

Ken

I told Ken we didn't really need the name, but to pass on our compliments if he ever corresponded with them again.

Note in the first photo there is a road and curb in front of the engine. In the later photos the engine is in the middle of a green space.

Looks to me like the locomotive is still in the same place too. It looks like the same grain elevator in the background, the fence around the locomotive has been removed, making the green space on its left side look bigger (the road and curb are probably just out of view in the newer photos), you can see asphalt road/parking lot right behind the tender in both the old and new images, the trees are in the same place...

Plus, you can see the locomotive on Google and Bing maps (both are rather blurry) just across the street from "Harvey Farmer's Elevator". Part of the "Harvey Farmer's Elevator" sign appears in one of the newer photos earlier in this thread, so we know that's the right location. Both satellite views show the locomotive right next to the curb of 7th Street West.

Same elevator in background
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=harvey+n ... 7,,0,12.13

... And, the rods are in exactly the same position during both periods, what are the odds of that after a move? Obviously no railfans on the crew that placed it.