This is a good topic for April 1st, as I have a news article as evidence:

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4 ... oad-museum

The locomotive is Soo Line 320, an EMD SW-1 built September 1939, builder's number 907.

More info:

http://sooline.dieselrosters.com/detail ... neageId=51

The article makes the claim this was the Soo's first diesel, and that's close enough, I suppose. It was one of three, two NW-2's and this SW-1 all came in Sept. 1939. There were already three NW-1A's on the property, delivered in December 1938, but those were owned by subsidiary Wisconsin Central.

320 was a fixture in Oshkosh, WI for a good number of years.

The unit was painted into a close replica of it's as-delivered scheme while owned by the donor, Independent Locomotive Service.

Here's a few photos of the unit just after rebuilding by Independent Locomotive Service of Thief River Falls, MN, also the EMD builder's photo for comparaison.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/25967611@N04/albums/72157682028490966

Man some museums have all the luck. Getting already restored equipment donated to them while others only get wrecks and junk that they have to pay for or pay to have moved at incredible cost.

And yes my eyes are green but just half green the other half is brown so that means I am half full of it as well.

Let me reiterate once again as I have in other threads:

THIS IS NOT LUCK.

This is the result of a museum working hard over years or decades to make itself an excellent museum, worthy of being considered for such a donation in the first place.

Say you have this locomotive, or caboose or passenger car or photo collection or library. You're realizing "Viking funerals" don't work, and you can't take it with you. Are you going to donate it to a professionally-run museum that can use it, that has a mission statement where your piece/collection fits, and a "tight ship" of competent administration and good volunteer base? Or will you offer it to the "McRailMuseum" with a motley, random collection that looks like a scrap siding and which doesn't even technically have a non-profit arm?

Now, we can't disregard luck entirely. I'd love it if cruise ships let off thousands of people in Orbisonia instead of Skagway, and a roundhouse/shops in the middle of a major city (Baltimore, Toronto, Sacramento) is going to be a bigger draw than one in the proverbial "middle of nowhere." But it's still the founders' and partners' responsibility to MAKE it great, not have greatness fall upon them.

And after you make your donation a new breed of management takes over and the once great museum becomes a "ship of fools" and a shadow of its former self.

But in all seriousness ADM IV your point is valid and just like an individual you make your own "luck".

Congrats to Duluth for getting a great little locomotive. Not a diesel fan but those are really great locomotives. Regards, John.

I realize it is not all luck and a lot of hard work behind the scenes goes in. It gets frustrating at times at the small museum I volunteer at with a handful of active people trying to keep 12 miles of track and equipment most would write off running.