  milwaukee road 261 is a 4-8-4, steam-powered locomotive owned and maintained by minneapolis-based nonprofit organization friends of the 261, which runs seasonal train excursions. the steam engine, restored in 1993,passenger train journal, november 1993, p. 20. interurban press/pentrex. has logged more than 25,000 miles under its own power since that time. ==history== built by the american locomotive company (alco) in schenectady, new york in june 1944, 261 was originally operated by the chicago, milwaukee, st. paul & pacific railroad, which was also known as the milwaukee road. the locomotive, weighing , is rated at a maximum horsepower of 4500 and maximum speed of 100&nbsp;mph, is coal fueled. it operated with the railroad until retiring in 1954, and eventually donated to the national railroad museum in green bay, wisconsin. as the new museum's first acquisition, 261 was moved to the museum site in 1958. in 1991, the newly formed "north star rail" selected 261 for restoration for mainline excursions. it was selected for a variety of reasons. the engine was large enough to handle the expected trains at track speed. it featured several modern features for a steam locomotive, including easier to maintain roller bearings. it also already had its asbestos lagging removed, which is very expensive to remove for environmental and safety reasons. finally, 261's relatively short 10 year service life meant that the engine's boiler is more pristine, meaning it would take less work to rebuild the engine. north star rail and the national railroad museum came to an agreement in november 1991 for a ten year lease (which was later renewed ten years later). 261 was moved from green bay to minneapolis to the ge shops at humboldt yard in se
4-8-4_locomotives ALCO_locomotives Individual_locomotives_of_the_United_States Milwaukee_Road_locomotives Preserved_steam_locomotives_of_the_United_States Railway_locomotives_introduced_in_1944