Newly restored Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 #261 stands in the snow on the BNSF next to the FO 261 Minneapolis Junction shop. 261 was making a couple of break-in runs on the pocket track adjacent to the ... (more)

Milwaukee Road 261 does some test runs back and forth at the shop so the crew can make sure every thing is working smoothly before it hits the mainline this May up to Duluth for its first public e... (more)

Got coal? That's about all Milwaukee Road 261 needs at this point - it's pretty much ready for its May debut.

I like this image because it looks to me to be a believable recreation of the past. The mulltiple tracks, industry, car spotted on the siding, crossing, perhaps even the rather mundane composition... (more)

Milwaukee Road 261 makes for a fine sight (no diesel behind) as it rolls across a former Soo Line bridge south of Superior. This locomotive will run across these tracks again this May on its first... (more)

A small crowd patiently waits for the show. In less then a half hour, the 261 will turn her first wheel under her own power in 4 years.

Milwaukee Road #261 and train crosses over the Mississippi River and join up with the BNSF for the final run into the Twin Cities.

Josh D grabs a shot of the 261 while Steve Sandberg loads the tender with coal.

The 261 lives again. Under steam again for the first time since 2008 after undergoing its federal mandated overhaul on this 1944 Alco 4-8-4.

Steve Sandberg and company have Milwaukee Road 261 under steam at Minneapolis Junction for the first time after its extensive rebuilding.

The 261 lives again. Under steam again for the first time since 2008 after undergoing its federal mandated overhaul on this 1944 Alco 4-8-4.

A special run of the 261 runs through Wheeling.

A farmer in Minnesota takes a break to watch the Hiawatha charge past. Part of a Lerro Productions photo charter. Look for MILW #261 to return to service later this year, with excursions to foll... (more)

Milw 261 leads a BNSF employee special westbound near Glendive. The big 4-8-4 put on quite a show on this clear summer morning.

Milwaukee Road 261's 227,000-pound boiler is lifted back onto its driving wheels by Vic's Crane & Heavy Haul of Rosemount, MN. The temperature was a frigid 13 degrees.