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Burlington Northern SD9

(Requires the EMD SD24 High Hood - UP by T3 Tech Box).

BN 6234 is a preserved American diesel locomotive, based on the Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway in Wisconsin, which is owned by the Minnesota Transport Museum.

The engine was built in 1959 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, originally as No. 839 for the Colorado & Southern Railroad (then a subsidiary of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy). This was one of the last SD9 locomotives to be built, and used a similar body-shell to the SD9’s eventual successor; the SD18.

839 was first out-shopped in the Burlington Route ‘chinese’ livery of red and grey. In 1970 - eleven years after 839 was built - the CB&Q was merged with the Great Northern, Northern Pacific and Spokane, Portland & Seattle to create the Burlington Northern Railroad. The year - 1971 - saw SD9 No. 839 repainted in the iconic ‘Cascade Green’ livery, but it wasn’t until 1980 when she was renumbered as BN 6234.

This engine remained in service even after the Burlington Northern merged with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1995 to create BNSF. After the merger, 6234 was simply patched with BNSF lettering on the cab-sides.

BNSF planned to renumber the engine to 6148 but the engine was preserved by the Minnesota Transport Museum before any renumbering could take place. She arrived at the Jackson St. Roundhouse in St. Paul, Minnesota on the 17th of October, 2003. In 2005 she began hauling passenger trains on the MTM’s Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway, running parallel with ex-SOO Line GP7 No. 559.

After the 2007 operating season, 6234 was transferred to the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co.’s workshop in Huricon, Wisconsin and given a fresh coat of paint. The engine retained her Cascade Green livery as well as her BN 6234 guise, seeing as - according to the MTM - this is the portion of her history that is relevant to Minnesota.

Nowadays SD9 No. 6234 is 62 years old, but - impressively - she is still in working order and still hauling excursion trains on the O&SCVR. If the engine could talk, she’d probably quote Elton John by saying ‘I’m Still Standing, better than I ever did’.