Northern Pacific RS1 803 Superior WI 6-24-1970

Here's a shot of Northern Pacific RS1 803 in the Old Town Yard in East End Superior June 1970. The 803 was built as NP 158 in August 1945 and retired as BN 953 in May 1972. The 803 seemed to be the RS1 that stuck to the Twin Ports the most during the NP and early BN days. Notice the standby heater in front of the engineers window. Usually, the units equipped with heaters were most often assigned to working in Superior rather than Duluth as there was no roundhouse in Superior to store the NP units during the winter months. The switchers in Duluth could be stuffed in the roundhouse when not in use but the East End Superior and Winter St. switchers were kept warm by these heaters. After the BN merger, the Duluth switchers were usually kept running in the winter if they weren't brought over to Superior. The roundhouse in Duluth was closed right after the merger and maintenance was moved to Belknap St. in Superior. Most of the RS3s were equipped with heaters but only a handful of the switchers had them, S4s 718 and 719 come to mind, and of course the 803. Superior, WI June 24, 1970. Bill Folsom Kodachrome from my Collection.

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