OWOSSO, MI - Michigan's premier railroading museum has added another historic locomotive to its eclectic collection.

The Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso welcomed the arrival of the Chicago and North Western Railway 175 earlier this month. The a 1908 R1 class 4-6-0 steam locomotive made the 500-mile journey from the Keweenaw Peninsula arrived at the institute on June 5.

Kevin Mayer, SRI Chief Mechanical Officer led a team of volunteers and contractors to oversee the transport of the historic engine.

Built by the American Locomotive Company's Schenectady Works, the 175 hauled both freight and passenger trains in the iron-mining territory of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin until the mid-1950's when diesel technology became a more economical and efficient alternative.

It is the only C&NW locomotive in Michigan, and one of only three R1's in existence that was made available to SRI by its owner, Mineral Range Inc, operator of the Mineral Range Railroad in Ishpeming.

In the summer of 2017, Mayer, SRI board member Preston Claytor and Dan Pluta, contractor at Pro Services arranged a meeting and inspection of the 175. Negotiations and an agreement to purchase the locomotive later that year followed.

The Steam Railroading Institute will now begin the restoration of the 175 to operating condition through grants and private gifts.