Built in 1908 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York, the engine was used in the iron country of NE Wisconsin and the western end of Michigan’s Upper peninsula. The engine hauled both passengers and freight until the early 1950s. #175 was retired in 1957, the last steam engine on the C&NW. The engine is one of the most modern 4-6-0 types, these “Ten-Wheelers” were a configuration popular from the mid-1800s to the end of steam. Stable at high speeds, this particular engine had 63″ drive wheels and could exceed 60 mph.
After retirement, it was refurbished to run on the Keweenaw Central tourist line in the 1960s. Often pictured with a Northern Pacific tender; the tender was a replacement for 175’s which was damaged and deemed irreparable. When the tourist line shut down, it was stored on the Copper Range Railroad until it was abandoned with the Copper Range in 1972. In 1974, it was given to the Quincy Smelter in Ripley, Michigan on the north shore of the Keweenaw Waterway – across from Houghton – on the Keewanaw Peninsula.
The previous photo was taken at the smelter sometime around 1991. There would have been more – and perhaps better – photos taken if film hadn’t run short.
In 2018, the engine was acquired by the Steam Railroading Institute (home of the “Polar Express” engine) in Owosso, Michigan, NE of Lansing and west of Flint. It is undergoing restoration to operating condition.
