Duluth Missabe & Iron Range Yellowstone Mallet #229

Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Yellowstone Mallet #229. . , [Marker 1] , This locomotive is dedicated to the men, women, and families of the Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Railroad, [Marker 2] , DM&IR Yellowstone Mallet #229, which is displayed opposite the venerable Duluth and Iron Range Railroad 3 Spot, was one of eighteen locomotives of this type. They came in two separate contracts of eight locomotives in 1941 and an additional ten locomotives in 1943. All were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works at their Eddystone plant in Pennsylvania., World War II was raging and America's iron ore resource was absolutely vital to the war effort for building ships, tanks, and other military equipment. As one might expect, steel for military hardware took precedence over all nonmilitary use of steel. These Mallets however were so important when it came to moving the iron ore that they were assigned the A-1-A preference rating for the materials needed for construction. In other words the Yellowstones were a higher priority than military steel for tanks and ships. It is little wonder that they are often referred to as "The locomotives that defeated Hitler.", Yellowstone #229 was the second locomotive in the second group of Mallets (228-237) that were built in 1943. The 229 was completed and test run on January 5, 1943 and afterward scheduled to depart the Baldwin plant on January 9th. This was mid-winter and the ore season was closed in Minnesota. Rather than going to Duluth or Two Harbors, #229 was sent to Denver, Colorado to be leased to the Denver Rio Grande and Western Railroad until the opening of the next ore shipping season. During that winter 229 pulled long freight trains over the Rocky Mountains and Continental Divide. Other Yellowstone sisters assisted on the Great Northern and Northern Pacific as well as the Denver and Rio Grande Western each year., When the 229 returned from Colorado in 1943, it was sent directly to Two Harbors to begin working on the Iron Range Division., Photos are courtesy of the Missabe Railroad Historical Society, Bruce Meyer Collection, [Marker 3] , Only 72 Yellowstone locomotives were ever built in the U.S. They were operated by the Baltimore and Ohio, Northern Pacific, Southern Pacific, and Duluth Missabe and Iron Range., The DM&IR Yellowstones were 128 feet long and weighed in at over 400 tons with no coal or water. Filling the tender took 26 tons of coal and 25,000 gallons of water. Altogether the working weight was almost a million pounds. Steam pressure was 240 pounds per square inch creating a tractive effort of 140,000 pounds., Often compared to the Union Pacific's Big Boy locomotive the DM&IR Mallet's had smaller drive wheels giving them incredible power at slower speeds. The speed limit on the heavy railroad was 45 miles per hour. Yellowstones were capable of pulling trains that would require four diesel locomotives today., The last Yellowstone Mallet to make a regular ore run was #222 on July 5th, 1960 on the Missabe Division. It was sent to Two Harbors and put on display for a very short time before being swapped for #221. This engone [sic] deteriorated in the weather and was replaced in 1967 by #229, which had been stored in the Proctor roundhouse up until then. In 2011 the #229 underwent a complete cosmetic in an effort to preserve it for future generations., The 3 Spot and Yellowstone Mallet #229 locomotives represent the first and the last in the evolution of the steam locomotive on Minnesota's Iron Range., [Photo captions, from top to bottom, read] , #229 at the sand tower in Two Harbors , The DM&IR is a left handed railroad , #229 at the water tower in Two Harbors , Heavy throttle northbound out of Two Harbors , The #221 being put on display in Two Harbors. This photograph demonstrates the articulation of the Mallet locomotive., Photos from the , Missabe Railroad Historical Society / Bruce Meyer Collection , The Lake Superior Museum of Transportation / Frank King Collection , And the Lake County Historical Society, The Lake County History Society would like to thank Dr. Mark S. Wilke for his contribution to this project.