Revenue service and retirement plate In 1944, amidst a motive power shortage for wartime traffic, the Milwaukee Road received ten S3 class 4-8-4s from the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). The S3s, which were step-ups of the Milwaukee Road's
Baldwin-built S2s, abided by
wartime restrictions by opting against new design features and instead reused those from other 4-8-4s from the
Union Pacific,
Rock Island, and
Delaware and Hudson. S3
No. 261, built and delivered in July 1944, is a
coal-fueled locomotive rated at a maximum of power output of , and a maximum speed of . No. 261 was initially assigned by the Milwaukee Road as a dual-service locomotive, pulling heavy freight and passenger trains between
Chicago,
Illinois and
Omaha, Nebraska, and on occasion, it would haul eastern portions of transcontinental trains connecting to the railroad's
Pacific Extension. Sometime later, No. 261, along with the other S3s, were modified with
cab signals and
automatic train stop systems to haul passenger trains between Chicago and
Minneapolis,
Minnesota. The railroad had to wait until the S3s' equipment trusts expired before disposing of them, and when No. 261's trust expired, it was formally retired from the roster in August 1956. At that time, its tender's
roller bearing trucks were removed and swapped for friction bearing trucks, so the former would be used for a
work train tender the railroad retained. They would be joined by other display locomotives within the ensuing years. North Star Rail, with financial backing by twelve investors, reached an agreement with the National Railroad Museum in November 1991 for a ten-year lease, which was later renewed in 2001. In March 1992, No. 261 was moved out of the museum and to the
Wisconsin Central's nearby car shop, where it was worked on by a full-time staff to prepare it for shipment to Minneapolis, with its tender rebuilt with roller bearing trucks, its running gear repaired, and its boiler prepped for rebuilding. North Star Rail also hired former railroad executive Chuck Wiesner as their director of operations and development to help arrange No. 261's operations and excursion runs, and he had previously worked with the
Mid-Continent Railway Museum. After passing its
FRA inspection on September 14, 1993, No. 261, becoming the first Milwaukee Road steam locomotive to operate since 1957, On the weekend of June 11–12, the National Railroad Museum hosted some No. 261-lead roundtrip excursions between Green Bay and
Neenah, Wisconsin. In October, North Star Rail temporarily lent No. 261 to the
Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society (FWRHS), who in absence of their then-out of service
Nickel Plate Road 765, ferried No. 261 over the
CSX mainline to
West Virginia, where the S3 lead that year's "New River Train". That same month, No. 261 was repainted as
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western (DLW) No. 1661 for filming of
Steam and Steel, a documentary film scheduled for showing at
Steamtown National Historic Site. The 1994 season was wrapped up with an excursion that celebrated the 50th anniversary of No. 261's 1944 construction date. In 1995, North Star Rail, Inc. dissolved, and the non-profit Friends of the 261 took over the lease and operations of No. 261, with North Star Rail's management being carried over. The S3 was originally scheduled to doublehead with
Pere Marquette 1225 from
Michigan through
Canada and into
New York state, before continuing south, but the route had to be eschewed at the last moment, upon concerns with clearance of No. 1225's cylinders inside the
Detroit River Tunnel. No. 261 instead traveled over CSX from
Chicago to
New Castle, Pennsylvania, and the
Buffalo and Pittsburgh to
Buffalo, before proceeding to Scranton. No. 1225 remained in Michigan, since its owners requested ferry funds that were not instantly available. A Hancock 3-chime whistle was temporarily added to the locomotive and then replaced with an
AT&SF 6-chime whistle, which continues to remain on it as of 2026, but still also keeping its original non-Hancock 3 chime whistle and Leslie A-125
air horn. No. 261 returned to the Midwest in early 1996, and upon arrival, the locomotive made its first runs over the newly-formed
BNSF Railway. It pulled a few sets of excursions in 1997 and 1998 over BNSF and TC&W trackage. The year of 1998 presented No. 261 with its biggest assignment yet, as it was the first steam engine to pull BNSF's Employee Appreciation Special. The engine led a BNSF locomotive and a dozen of BNSF's business-car fleet around the upper Midwest portion of BNSF's route. This brought the engine back to Chicago before heading north to
North Dakota and
Montana, then through Minneapolis into
Iowa before the EAS concluded at
Topeka Railroad Days. 261 ended the 1998 operating season after a few more days on BNSF tracks. The 1999 season was short, with a weekend excursion in May from Minneapolis to
Duluth along with runs on the
Lake Superior Railroad Museum's tracks and another excursion in September. The year 2000 saw No. 261 leading excursions out of places such as Chicago,
Omaha, and
Kansas City. The engine also led an AAPRCO private-car special on August 29 to Duluth. The engine then led a long circle-trip over the
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway as well as the
North Shore Railroad System before heading back home. The 2001 season had excursions out of Minneapolis and Montevideo over BNSF and TC&W tracks during June and July, with a complete set of
Hiawatha passenger cars. The next year, 261 pulled an almost-matching consist between Minneapolis and Chicago. At this point, insurance rates were skyrocketing due to
outside events, as well as new FRA guidelines. The Friends of the 261 had an insurance policy to run through 2002, making these trips among the last time that the group could afford to have 261 run solo. In the following months, some major changes were made to the Friends of the 261's operations. With insurance being too high to charge reasonable ticket prices, the group decided to team up with
Amtrak. Amtrak is self-insured, so the added cost of excursion insurance was much less, but all equipment was required to meet Amtrak certification. No. 261 became the second steam locomotive to become Amtrak-certified, and the Friends of the 261 began to purchase or rebuild coaches that would meet Amtrak specifications. The first team-up with Amtrak occurred in October 2003, with the engine's return to old Milwaukee Road tracks between Minneapolis and
Winona, Minnesota. These trips were repeated each year until 2008.
2004–2008 In June 2004, No. 261 made its first return visit to
Milwaukee since being restored, and then it travelled to Chicago to participate in the Grand Excursion: an approximate reenactment of
the original 1854 celebration train of the same name. It departed from Chicago, arriving in
Rock Island, Illinois, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the
Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, which was the first to reach the
Mississippi River. During the Grand Excursion, No. 261 made day trips to
Savanna, Illinois, over the
Iowa, Chicago and Eastern Railroad (IC&E), and to
Bureau Junction, Illinois, on the
Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS), current owner/operator of the first railroad line to the Mississippi River. The train then traveled north along IC&E rails near the river, making overnight stops at
Dubuque, Iowa, and
La Crosse, Wisconsin. The final leg up to the
Twin Cities operated in
Wisconsin on BNSF trackage. On July 3, No. 261 performed a doubleheader run with visiting locomotive
Canadian Pacific 2816 from St. Paul to
La Crescent and return. No. 261 ran excursions from Minneapolis to Duluth via BNSF trackage in both 2005 and 2007. Three June 2006 excursions were launched from Milwaukee: a dinner train in Friday, June 23 to
Sturtevant, Wisconsin, and Saturday and Sunday excursions (24th and 25th) to
Wisconsin Dells. For these runs, the train was turned at
New Lisbon. These excursions would be repeated in August 2008. In September 2006, No. 261 and its train visited
Rock Island, Illinois, as part of RiverWay 2006, a
Quad Cities celebration of the 150th anniversary of the
first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River in 1856. As part of the festivities, No. 261's train was coupled to a pair of
Chinese-built QJ steam locomotives 6988 and 7081 for a trip to
Homestead, Iowa, on September 15, 2006. The next day, No. 261 was added to run a triple-header from Rock Island to
Bureau Junction, Illinois; then, on the following day, the QJs pulled the train, without 261, to
Muscatine, Iowa, and back. Diesels were not used on any of these excursions. In September 2007, No. 261 reunited with No. 2816 for another doubleheader between Minneapolis and La Crosse. The Friends of the 261 had helped the
Canadian Pacific Railway plan No. 2816's return of that year, as well as providing half of the consist the locomotive led. In May 2008, No. 261 was featured on a photo charter on the
Twin Cities and Western Railroad. Following this, the locomotive travelled to Chicago, where it was filmed for
Public Enemies, a film based on the life of
John Dillinger and starred
Johnny Depp and
Christian Bale. Though No. 261 was built ten years after Dillinger died, the S3 did fit the bill for a steam engine that could be filmed at
Chicago Union Station. No. 261 hauled its final excursion of 2008 in September on Canadian Pacific's ex-Milwaukee Road line from Minneapolis to Winona, with a return on BNSF's ex-Burlington Northern line from La Crosse to Minneapolis. No. 261 was then pulled from service for an FRA-mandated 15-year inspection, and the Friends of the 261 quickly initiated a rebuild of the locomotive.
Acquisition from the National Railroad Museum In 2009, the work on 261 was halted to concentrate on
Southern Pacific 4449, which was arranged by the Friends of the 4449 organization, the Steam Railroading Institute, and Amtrak to participate in Train Festival 2009, and the Friends of the 261 played a major part in sending the locomotive to the event. The group provided several passenger cars for No. 4449's long-distance excursion from
Portland, Oregon, to
Owosso, Michigan, that started on July 3, 2009, as well as Train Festival 2009. After being away for three months, the No. 4449 returned to Portland on October 20, 2009. In November 2009, the Friends of the 261 and the National Railroad Museum had problems with negotiations over lease agreements. The museum was asking too much for the Friends to pay, especially while in the middle of a large overhaul. Per the terms of their agreement, the Friends of the 261 would be responsible for returning the locomotive to the Museum. The Friends of the 261 decided to end the lease with the National Railroad Museum, citing the high costs. In an email dated November 17, 2009, Steve Sandberg, the Friends' chief operating officer, informed the museum that his organization had decided to discontinue operating No. 261, according to Michael E. Telzrow, executive director of the museum. The Friends made plans to return No. 261 to Green Bay for permanent display, while they began searching for another steam locomotive to restore and operate. In January 2010, an unnamed California-based collector and businessman entered talks with the National Railroad Museum with interest in acquiring No. 261, and he claimed to be interested in allowing the Friends to overhaul and operate it. and later that same month, the former's deal with the California-based collector fell through.
Second excursion service 4-6-2 No. 2719 at the
Lake Superior Railroad Museum during
National Train Day, 2013|left In 2013, No. 261's four-year rebuild was successfully completed. On October 12, 2013, No. 261 made a round-trip fall-color excursion to
Willmar, Minnesota. On October 13, 2013, No. 261 made a second round-trip excursion to
Boylston, Wisconsin. Amtrak
P40DC No. 824 joined 261 for these trips. On September 27, 2014, No. 261 ran on a round-trip Fall Colors Excursion to Duluth, returning to Minneapolis on September 28. The excursion traveled on BNSF's
Hinckley Subdivision. Amtrak P42DC No. 174 joined No. 261 for this trip. In 2014, No. 261 operated the Inaugural
North Pole Express in St. Paul. For two weekends, No. 261 operated out of St. Paul Union Depot and lead short-distance trips decorated for this excursion. The train consisted of four coaches and operated on a long line on the Depot grounds. No. 261 even posed next to Canadian Pacific's Holiday Train when it also visited the depot. It reprised its role as the locomotive for the
North Pole Express at St. Paul Union Depot from 2015 to 2022, operating over two weekends each December. During the 2022 run, the locomotive only operated the first weekend; the 32A operated trains the second. In October 2015, No. 261 attended the 2015 Railway Interchange Show in Minneapolis on October 4–7. On October 10, 261 pulled a daytime round-trip excursion to
Boylston, Wisconsin, where it was wyed and returned to Minneapolis. The next day, No. 261 did the same to Willmar, Minnesota, but used a turntable to face forward for the return to Minneapolis. Amtrak's Phase IV
heritage unit No. 184 joined No. 261 for both trips. No. 261 traveled to
St. Paul Union Depot under steam to be displayed along other equipment for "Union Depot Train Days", celebrating the 90th anniversary of the building. It was featured in a night photo shoot with Soo Line 2500, an
EMD FP7. On June 4, 2016, No. 261 ran a round-trip to Duluth, Minnesota, returning to Minneapolis on June 5. Amtrak had been power short, so No. 261 performed this trip on its own. In September 2016, 261 operated on Twin Cities and Western Railroad and
Minnesota Prairie Line trackage. The Minnesota Prairie Line is former
Chicago and North Western Railway trackage that originally belonged to the
Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway. No. 261 operated as far west as
Winthrop, Minnesota. It was the first time in 60 years that a steam engine had operated on the Minnesota Prairie Line. The same route was operated in the fall of 2017. In October 2016, No. 261 operated three round-trips from Minneapolis on the Twin Cities and Western, running on former Milwaukee Road tracks. 261 operated without a diesel helper except to be pulled back to Minneapolis, as there were no places to turn the train around. In June 2017, No. 261 operated on the
Red River Valley and Western Railroad in North Dakota. In June 2018, No. 261 was scheduled to make another visit to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth while hauling an excursion over BNSF to fundraise a planned
Positive train control (PTC) installation on the S3, but in May, after tickets had already been sold, the Friends of the 261 was abruptly forced to cancel the excursion, since Amtrak CEO
Richard Anderson imposed heavy restrictions on private charter trips, disregarding the Friends' long-time partnership with Amtrak. On September 8 and 9, 2018, No. 261 hauled two fall excursions on the Twin Cities and Western from Minneapolis to
Glencoe, Minnesota, with a stop near
Norwood Young America, Minnesota, for Gourmet Food and Wine tours and a photo runby. On September 22, 2018, for the 25th anniversary of No. 261's first excursions in 1993, the locomotive pulled a special train for the annual convention of the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners (AAPRCO). In May 2019, after an agreement made in January, the Friends of the 261 acquired former Milwaukee Road
EMD E9 No. 32A from the
Wisconsin and Southern Railroad (WSOR), a subsidiary of
Watco. First showcased at Union Depot Day from May 31 to June 2, it pulled its first excursion on June 22, still painted in Wisconsin and Southern colors minus the former lettering. The E9 locomotive has since been repainted into Milwaukee colors and debuted in its new paint scheme on May 12, 2021. In June 2019, No. 261 lead two excursions for the Milwaukee Road Historical Association convention being held in Minneapolis, called the
261 Hiawatha. On June 22, 2019, the train operated from Minneapolis to
Brownton, Minnesota, on the Twin Cities and Western. On June 23, 2019, the train traveled between Minneapolis and Norwood/Young America on TC&W, then from Norwood to Winthrop on TC&W subsidiary Minnesota Prairie Line: a rare-mileage trip for No. 261. On March 11, 2021, a $200,000 proposal was made to convert No. 261's firebox from burning coal to
oil. This would not be the first time an S3 locomotive was converted to oil, as Nos. 262, 263, 267 and 269 were converted to oil during their revenue careers. In January 2022, the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (RRHMA), the parent organization for the Friends of the 261, acquired a large disused Rock Island shop facility in
Silvis, Illinois, and in April that same year, the organization received numerous historic locomotives and passenger cars, including steam locomotives Nos.
3985,
5511, and
DDA40X No. 6936, as a donation from the Union Pacific Railroad, expanding the organization's operations beyond No. 261's runs. On October 4–5, 2025, No. 261 lead back-to-back excursions over the TC&W, making them the locomotive's first extensive excursions since 2022. In March 2026, it was announced that No. 261 would lead a series of extensive
USA 250 Hiawatha excursions in July over the TC&W between
Chanhassen,
Montevideo,
Granite Falls, and
Appleton, and the excursions would contribute to the
United States Semiquincentennial celebrations. == See also ==