Soo Line 1003 - Wisconsin's Finest Steamer

On August 23rd 2025, I would chase Soo Line 1003, a locomotive I have been wanting to see pretty much my entire life. After work on the 22nd, me and a friend would hotshot it all the way to Wisconsin over night, arriving at 3:30am. With only 3hrs of sleep, we would chase Soo Line 1003 from Hartford to Burnett & back. The 1003, while she put on a alright show, was still amazing to see. I'm hoping to be able to get back up to Wisconsin to film the engine again before her 1472 inspection. This run was to honor the 75th Anniversary of the Wisconsin NRHS chapter. Huge thank you to them and the Steam Locomotive Heritage Association for putting on this event.

After leaving the 1003, we would head to Texas Roadhouse to have a good meal and some good laughs. Then we went mini golfing and we all had a great time. On the way home, we would stop outside Chicago to see CTC 1, a WW2 era great lake freighter that has since been parked and turned into a storage unit. We would also head to Burns Harbor to see the Wilfred Sykes , another classic great lake freighter. Out of all my trips, this was one where it seemed to have the steam engine be the "lowest" point of the trip, and that's saying a lot because I loved my time with 1003.

Once again, huge thank you to the Steam Locomotive Heritage Association for taking care of 1003 and the Wisconsin NRHS chapter for helping put on this event!



Train Log: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

#sooline1003 #soo1003 #steamlocomotive #steamtrain #wisconsin #1003 #railroad #train