Soo Line 353

Soo Line 353 is a restored 0-6-0 type steam locomotive of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway (“Soo Line”) B-4 class. It is now owned & operated by WMSTR (Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion) every Labor Day weekend.[1]

Soo Line 353
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder American Locomotive Company Serial number 61760 Build date August 1920
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-6-0  • UIC C h2 Gauge 4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 51 in (1,295 mm) Wheelbase 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m) Length 58 ft 10 ^3⁄8 in (17.94 m) (engine and tender) Width 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) Height 15 ft 3 ^1⁄2 in (4.66 m) Loco weight 151,000 lb (68.5 tonnes) Total weight 253,900 lb (115.2 tonnes) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 16,000 lb (7.3 tonnes) Water cap 5,000 US gal (19,000 l; 4,200 imp gal) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 30.97 sq ft (2.877 m^2) Boiler pressure 180 lbf/in^2 (1.24 MPa) Heating surface 1,644 sq ft (152.7 m^2)  • Flues 1,382 sq ft (128.4 m^2)  • Firebox 167 sq ft (15.5 m^2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 295 sq ft (27.4 m^2) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 20 in × 26 in (508 mm × 660 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts
Performance figures Tractive effort 31,200 lbf (138.78 kN) Factor of adh. 4.8
Career Operators Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway (“Soo Line”) Koppers Coke and Gas Company Class B-4 Number in class 10 of 11 Numbers 353 Locale Wisconsin & Minnesota Delivered August 1920 Retired March 1964 Current owner WMSTR (Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion) Disposition Operational

History

The locomotive was built by the American Locomotive Company's Brooks Works in 1920 for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway. It and its other class B-4 locomotives were the last, and largest design of purpose-built switch engines that the Soo Line owned, any heavier switching duties were performed by down-graded 2-8-0 freight engines. By 1954, No. 353 was off the active roster and put on the deadline. In 1955, it and fellow classmate #346 (built by ALCO-Schenectady in 1915) were sold to the Koppers Coke and Gas Company to switch coal hoppers around the coke plant. In March 1964, both the 346 and the 353 were retired from service when the plant bought a second hand Whitcomb 65-ton diesel (formerly owned by the Oliver Iron Mining Company).

In 1965, it was donated to the Minnesota Transportation Museum, where it was stored until 1972 when it was sold to the Western Minnesota Steam Thresher's Reunion, whose volunteers restored it to operation in 1978 for use during their threshing show at Rollag, Minnesota.

References

1. "Soo Line 353 information". Trains magazine.