by David Hill
Editor
A group of Thief River Falls citizens is interested in putting a canopy over the 1024 engine outside the old Soo Line Depot.
Rust spots are obvious on the 1024, which is hardly surprising since it was built by the American Locomotive Co. in 1912 and was in service on the Soo Line for many years. After years in the weather, an effort is being attempted to preserve the Mikado engine and tender. This effort intends to make sure the next generation will be able to appreciate its importance.
The 1024 is one of eight bought from the C.I. & L. It’s called a Mikado because the first engines of this wheel arrangement were made for the Japanese government. The Soo Line was supposedly the first U.S. railroad to adopt the Mikado type. After completing its service, it was acquired by the City of Thief River Falls and positioned outside the Depot.
Last week, Hilary Stoltman, Jim Dagg, City Administrator Larry Kruse, City Community Services Director Mark Borseth, and Dean Kaushagen, gathered near engine 1024 to discuss what the canopy might look like.
Borseth said he had asked a class at Northland Community and Technical College to come up with some designs. At this point, the options are wide open, but it is anticipated that the design will match the structure of the Soo Line Depot.
Stoltman has fond memories of his days working on the railroad even though many were long and hard. At the start of his career, Stoltman said his work days were 16 hours long.
Stoltman, who has been retired now for 21 years, is often asked to serve as a tour guide to groups stopping to look at the engine.
Stoltman said he knows of only two others in town who can remember working on a steam engine – Sherman Johnson and Bob Evenson, so it’s becoming more and more important to record that history. Stoltman added there aren’t very many steam engines around either. Most have been cut up for scrap.
So much has changed since his early days on a steam engine. Stoltman started, as many did, as a fireman, and like so many jobs then, working on the railroad was very labor intensive.
As an example, Stoltman said every train was required to have an engineer, a fireman, a head brakeman, a flag man, a field man and a conductor. The many people performed many different jobs, but were absolutely needed just to communicate. Those communications were conducted through hand signals or lanterns. Today, each train has an engineer and a conductor. That’s it. And, the crew communicates with radios and computer. Stoltman said the engines even have self-analyzing features that tell the crew if anything is wrong. At the height of the steam era in Thief River Falls, Stoltman estimated that the railroad employed about 400 people. Today, he guesses they employ about 60, but they handle more than twice the tonnage.
There have been huge changes during Stoltman’s lifetime and changes that need to be documented and saved, just like the old 1024.
In addition to the many personal stories connected to the train and railroad, a lot of the region’s history is wrapped up with the railroad.
A Minnesota State University – Moorhead Northwest Minnesota Historical Center report states, “The railroads opened the frontier to Americans and immigrants who wanted to start a new life for themselves and their families. The railroad connected new lands, increased settlement, and gave birth to new industries and businesses which created wealth.” That was true of the Thief River Falls area.
Work to be done
Stoltman and Gaylord Pederson replaced the windows of the 1024 last year, and made sure the bell on the engine was functional – at their expense. The windows will last for years because they used treated lumber, but the rest of the engine may not fare as well. Stoltman said there are parts of the train that have rusted through.
One way to help protect the old engine is with a canopy. Costs of a canopy are being estimated at between $30,000 and $40,000.