Soo Line No. 700

Soo Line No. 700 is a restored EMD GP30 diesel locomotive originally owned by the Soo Line Railroad. It was built in 1963 as a part of the "second generation" diesel power that replaced older locomotives. It is now owned by the Lake Superior Railroad Museum for use on their North Shore Scenic Railroad.

History
Soo Line 700 was built towards the end of the GP30's short production life between 1961 and 1963. It was one of 948 built by Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of General Motors in La Grange, Illinois. GP (General Purpose) was the beginning of the "second generation" of diesel locomotive power to replace older diesels that led to the demise of steam power. GP30s are recognizable with their higher cab roofs, sometimes called "hump roofs".

Soo Line ordered 22 GP30s in 1963, for the cost of $4 million, but were willing to make the investment to replace 33 older locomotives. As part of the deal, the Soo Line traded in 21 of its 22-strong fleet of Alco FA-1 locomotives; it would have traded in 20 of them, but decided to rebuild GP9 2411, rather than trade it in. So it was that a passenger EMD F7b unit (the 500C), which had been written-off after a collision at White Bear, Minnesota in November 1961 was used a trade-in credit against the 700 (The 500C was the first diesel to be retired; the other engine in the consist (GP9 550) was repaired and become the first locomotive to wear the new red and gray color scheme). In order to save money the Alco's trucks with their General Electric traction motors were re-used; in order to maintain conformity, another pair of trucks was obtained from a Chicago scrapyard. This decision would come back to haunt the railroad's conservative management, as it would become a maintenance headache, especially in winter months.

GP30s were highly utilized until higher horsepower locomotives replaced their mainline status in the 1980s. Then, many Soo Line GP30s were used for secondary or local service. In 1987, seventeen of their remaining nineteen GP30s, including 700, were sold to Wisconsin Central. When Wisconsin Central was acquired by the Canadian National Railway in 2001, 700 was donated the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. In 2005, it was restored and repainted and began service on the North Shore Scenic Railroad.