This past week and into next I’m railfanning my way across South Dakota and points between from Kentucky! This is one of many images you’ll be seeing in the coming weeks!
The Black Hills Central Railway locomotive 108 heads through one of the many rock cuts through the Black Hills countryside as it makes its third trip of the day from Hill City to Keystone, South Dakota on my birthday, June 26th, 2025. A big shout out to Cory Jakeway for all the help on finding my way around on the railroad and railfanning with me!
According to their website: Locomotive is a 2-6-6-2T articulated tank engine that was built by the Baldwin Locomotives Works in 1926 for the Potlatch Lumber Company. It later made its way to Weyerhaeuser Timber Company and eventually to the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, Washington.
The acquisition and subsequent restoration of locomotive 108 completed a more than 20-year goal of increasing passenger capacity which began with the restoration of 110 and the restoration of multiple passenger cars. Both large Mallet locomotives (pronounced “Malley”) can pull a full train of seven authentically restored passenger cars, up from the four cars utilized prior to their addition to the roster.
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/2000, ISO 100.