Milwaukee Road 261 is a S3 class "Northern" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York, in July 1944 for the Milwaukee Road (MILW). It was used for heavy mainline freight and passenger work until being retired by the MILW in 1956. Instead of being dismantled for scrap, No. 261 was preserved and moved to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1958.
As of 2026, the locomotive is owned, operated and maintained by the Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization Friends of the 261, which runs occasional and seasonal excursion trains using the locomotive. The steam engine, restored in 1993,Passenger Train Journal, November 1993, p. 20. Interurban Press/Pentrex. has logged more than under its own power since that time.
History Revenue service and retirement
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. By March 1954, as the Milwaukee Road dieselized, No. 261 was mainly reassigned to freight and mail services in eastern portions of the Milwaukee Division.
By December 1954, No. 261 and the rest of the S3s made their final revenue runs, and the Milwaukee Road withdrew nearly all of their other remaining steam locomotives from service by December the following year; one locomotive (4-6-0 No. 1004) was retained as a switcher and weed-scalder until March 1957. 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. Shortly thereafter, No. 261 was donated to the newly-established National Railroad Museum of Green Bay, Wisconsin, being personally presented by Milwaukee Road chairman Leo T. Crowley, and the locomotive became the first part of the museum's collection. In March 1958, No. 261, along with Soo Line 2718, were maneuvered by a Green Bay and Western (GB&W) diesel over a temporarily-laid spur into the museum's site in W. D. Cooke Park of Ashwaubenon, where they became the museum's first exhibits. They would be joined by other display locomotives within the ensuing years.
First excursion service
In 1991, North Star Rail, Inc., a for-profit organization founded by Mike Adams and Steve Sandberg, expressed interest in restoring and operating No. 261 for excursion service, having previously been contracted to maintain and operate Northern Pacific 328 for the Minnesota Transportation Museum. One reason No. 261 was chosen for restoration was because Sandberg's grandfather had served as the S3's engineer in revenue service, and Sandberg, who would become North Star Rail's chief operating officer, wanted to commit to the locomotive out of sentimentality. Other reasons for No. 261's selection: the 4-8-4 had become a common wheel arrangement for American steam locomotives used in mainline excursion service, since they could handle long consists at track speed; No. 261 had several modern features for a steam locomotive, including roller bearings; it already had its boiler jacketing removed, which contained asbestos and, therefore, would be expensive to remove for environmental and safety reasons; and the museum had kept No. 261 on display inside a newly-built car barn to reduce corrosion.
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. Help was provided by a volunteer support group, the Friends of the 261, with members including Gary Bensman, Dave Redding, Jim French, and Steve Pahl Sr. In late September 1992, No. 261 was towed from Green Bay to the General Electric (GE) shops at Humboldt Yard in Minneapolis, where the rest of its rebuild took place.
Since North Star Rail already had the required funding in place, and with the Friends of the 261's support, work was able to quickly progress, allowing for a hydrostatic test in June 1993, a test fire in July, and eventual restoration completion in September. 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, deadheaded over the Wisconsin Central in time for its first public excursions on September 18–19. The S3 subsequently arrived at its new home at the leased Burlington Northern Minneapolis Junction facility.
Throughout 1994, No. 261 had an extensive season, consisting of numerous excursions on the Wisconsin Central and the Twin Cities and Western Railroad (TC&W). In May, as part of the Chocolate City Days festival hosted by Nestlé in Burlington, Wisconsin, No. 261 lead the Chocolate City Express excursion between Des Plaines, Illinois and Burlington. 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.
In June 1995, No. 261 hauled a one-way excursion, sponsored by Trains Magazine, over five days from Minneapolis to Scranton, Pennsylvania, where it participated in Steamtown National Historic Site's formal grand opening celebrations the following month. 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. The 4-8-4 subsequently stayed for one year in Scranton, pulling numerous excursions, including rare-mileage trips, a rare snowplow run, and a doubleheader excursion with New York, Susquehanna and Western 142 between Scranton and Syracuse, New York. 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.
2003–2008
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.