Great Northern 400

Great Northern 400 (Hustle Muscle)
GN 400 Hustle Muscle on the Minnesota Transportation Museum's Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway in 2016.
Type and origin Power type Diesel Builder Electro-Motive Division Serial number 31598 Model SD45 Build date 1966
Specifications Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Length 65 feet (20 m) Fuel capacity 4,000 US gallons (15,000 l; 3,300 imp gal) Prime mover EMD 645E3 Cylinders 20
Performance figures Power output 3,600 horsepower (2,700 kW)
Career Operators Great Northern Railway Burlington Northern Great Northern Railway Historical Society Numbers GN 400 BN 6430 Locale Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States Delivered May 1966 Retired 1986 Restored 1989, 2007 Current owner Great Northern Railway Historical Society Disposition Out of Service
Awaiting the shipment of a rebuilt 20-645E from an SD45-2 for installation

Great Northern 400, nicknamed Hustle Muscle, is a restored SD45 diesel locomotive originally owned by the Great Northern (GN). It was built in 1966 as the first production SD45 by Electro-Motive Division.

History

GN 400 was the first of eight SD45s (numbered 400-407) delivered to the Great Northern in May and June 1966. GN 400 was the fourth SD45 built by EMD after the first three demonstrators. Great Northern christened it with its nickname, "Hustle Muscle." All eight SD45s wore Great Northern's simplified orange and green paint scheme, but only 400 wore a nickname. In total, Great Northern owned 27 SD45s built from 1966 through 1968.

In 1970, the GN became part of the Burlington Northern (BN). The locomotive was renumbered to 6430, but through 1972 it still wore its GN paint, with the GN logos removed. In 1973, the locomotive underwent a massive "class-one overhaul", and was painted into BN's cascade green scheme. At the request of railfans, BN kept its nickname painted on both sides of its long hood.^[1]

The BN retired 6430 in 1986, and donated the locomotive to the Great Northern Railway Historical Society. In 1989, the locomotive was repainted back into its original GN appearance and renumbered back to 400 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, but there was some controversy over its restored appearance, including the misplaced and off-centered "Hustle Muscle" nickname. The locomotive was then kept in Duluth, Minnesota, until the early 2000s when it was moved to the former Great Northern Jackson Street Roundhouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which houses the Minnesota Transportation Museum. In 2006, the 400 was repainted again, this time accurately with the "Hustle Muscle" nickname in its correct location. The second repaint was completed in Horicon, Wisconsin, using original EMD and GN diagrams of the locomotive. Since then it has been displayed in a stall of the Jackson Street Roundhouse, 400's original home.

Present-day operations

Prior to moving to Duluth, it was displayed in LaGrange, IL in September 1989 for EMD's 50th Anniversary of the FT diesel, along with other EMD power.^[2] The locomotive then operated on the North Shore Scenic Railroad, sometimes being paired with Soo Line 1003 or Duluth & Northern Minnesota 14. After moving from Duluth to St. Paul, the locomotive was called into duty for special excursions, including operating with Milwaukee Road 261^[3] and pulling Great Northern Railway Historical Society and National Railway Historical Society charters. In 2001, it operated on a circle tour with the 261 from the Twin Cities to Superior, then west through Brainerd then south through Staples and east back to the Twin Cities through St. Cloud.

It was featured in the 2002 "Railroad Days" in Galesburg, IL.^[4] It pulled a National Railway Historical Society excursion from the Twin Cities to Duluth in 2009 and running some excursions and photo trips on the North Shore Scenic Railroad. Otherwise, 400 was often displayed inside MTM's roundhouse, occasionally pulling their Saturday caboose rides.^[5] It was ferried in 2006 to the Wisconsin Southern for a repaint and returned to the Minnesota Transportation Museum in 2007.^[6] In 2014 and 2015, the locomotive was displayed for special events at St. Paul Union Depot.

In 2015 the Minnesota Transportation Museum and the Great Northern Railway Historical Society signed a two-year operating lease to have the 400 operate on MTM's Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway in Osceola, WI, in place of MTM's Soo Line (Ex-Rock Island) GP7 which is undergoing maintenance. After being displayed in St. Paul through May, the locomotive was ferried to Osceola for its first year of regular excursions.^[7]

GN 400 pulled many trains during the 2015 season including a special for the 2015 Great Northern Convention and for photo charters. It was often set aside just for special runs. At the end of the 2015 season, BNSF railway transported GN 400 to their diesel shop in Northtown yard for a "class one inspection". After some testing on revenue local trains, GN 400 was given a "clean bill of health" and was returned to the Jackson Street Roundhouse.^[8]

In 2016 the 400 was a co-star in a railfan photographer special on May 2 with its former Duluth 'bunkmate' Soo Line 2500. It operated every weekend of May and June 2016 and October 2016.^[9] It returned to display at the Jackson Street Roundhouse and went to BNSF for maintenance in March 2017. The 400 was supposed to go on display at St. Paul Union Depot in May 2017.

Crankshaft Failure

In April 2017, while loadtesting at BNSF's diesel shop in Northtown, the 400's crankshaft broke causing serious damage to the engine, requiring a replacement engine put in.^[10] BNSF then sent a stored ATSF SD45-2 to Topeka, Kansas for a class one rebuild and then donated the SD45-2's prime mover to the Great Northern Railway Historical Society. The engine currently awaits completion before being shipped back to Northtown yard for installation into the GN 400. The work was hoped to be completed in time to renew an operating lease with the Minnesota Transportation Museum to operate in 2018.

References

External links

• Minnesota Transportation Museum Where GN 400 is displayed and operated.
• Great Northern Railway Historical Society GN 400's current owners.