September, 2019 – Soo Line/Wisconsin Central FP7 Number 2500-A pulls up the grade as it approaches Lakewood on the North Shore Scenic Railroad as it heads to Two Harbors, from the Lake Superior Railroad Museum at Duluth, Minnesota.
According to Wikipedia: With steam operations on North American Railroads being converted to diesel operations, Electro-Motive, along with other locomotive builders, began building demonstrator units to be tested by various railroads. Electro-Motive built a set of three FP7 units, 7001 (A-unit) and 7002 & 7003 (B-units). In November 1949, Canadian Pacific Railway tested these units. Canadian Pacific owned most of the Soo Line, and after testing the three demonstrator units, they were sent to the Soo Line.
In April 1950, Soo Line ran the set from Minneapolis, MN to Portal, ND then Duluth, MN to Winnipeg. 7001 hosted the United Kingdom’s Duke of Windsor, the former King Edward VIII, in its cab through North Dakota. Soo Line was so impressed with the set, that it purchased them for use on Wisconsin Central. In May 1950, they were delivered as WC 2500-A, 2500-B, and 2501-B.
WC 2500-A often pulled Soo’s Laker from Chicago to Duluth. Although numbered as Wisconsin Central, 2500 was painted in Soo Line’s maroon and gold scheme. In 1960 Wisconsin Central became part of the Soo Line, and 2500 was repainted into the red and gray Soo Line scheme. When passenger service was discontinued in the 1960s, 2500 was used to pull freight trains.
In 1980, 2500 was converted to provide compressed air and electrical power to snowplows in the winter months. In August 1986, Soo 2500 was donated to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. Soo 2500 went through a lengthy and complete overhaul. Much of its interior was repaired or replaced. Its exterior was repainted back into Soo Line’s old maroon and gold scheme. In 1995, Soo Line 2500 pulled passenger trains, this time for the North Shore Scenic Railroad and now for the Lake Superior Railroad Museum.
