Soo Line Steam Locomotives

Twelve years after the previous shot of Soo 5001, we spy the same locomotive again at Shoreham Shops in Minneapolis. While still in the prime of her service life, unfortunately the 5001 is living on borrowed time in 1953. Only one more year of Soo steam service, then full dieselization occured in early 1955. While we can't tell from this photo, it is still likely that the 5001 was working in freight service at this late date, though not for much longer. Unfortunately, like the beautiful Soo Mountains, no Soo Northerns were preserved for future generations, so we can only enjoy them in photographs.