OSCEOLA, Wis. — Trains Magazine has announced an exclusive photo charter to be held Sept. 11-12 at the Minnesota Transportation Museum’s Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway featuring three historic diesels.
The tentative schedule for the two-day event includes a Sept. 11 passenger train with freshly painted Great Northern SDP40 No. 325 and Great Northern equipment, and a night photo shoot at Osceola with No. 325 and/or Soo Line GP9 No. 559.
On Sept. 12, No. 559 will power a heavyweight passenger train of Northern Pacific and Rock Island coaches, followed by freight consist featuring by Burlington Northern SD9 6234 and a BN caboose.
Ticket sales are limited to 50 persons. Tickets include fares for both days, three trains with multiple runbys, and the night photo shoot with professional lighting. A boxed lunch will be provided both days, and snacks and beverages will be available for purchase on board the train.
Tickets, priced at $295 plus taxes and fees, are available here.
Osceola, Wis., is on the border with Minnesota, about a 50-minute drive from Minneapolis or St. Paul.
An SDP40 is a 6-axle C-C passenger diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) between June 1966 and May 1970. Like its predecessor in EMD’s catalog, the SDP35, the SDP40 is a high-horsepower freight locomotive with equipment for passenger train service.
Great Northern Railway (GN) purchased the first six SDP40s in 1966, to replace older E-units on their Western Star and smaller regional trains. Options included Vapor OK-4740 steam generators, water-transfer capability between units, 59:18 gearing for a top speed of 83 mph (134 km/h), and Type-F couplers. These were followed in 1967 by eight more powerful SDP45 locomotives ordered for the Empire Builder. After the startup of Amtrak in 1971, Great Northern’s successor Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) converted the locomotives to freight service.
One SDP40, former GN 323, was temporarily renumbered BN 1976 and painted in red, white and blue for the United States Bicentennial in 1976.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
If possible, a classy railroad enthusiast event not to be missed!
Dr. Güntürk Üstün