Indiana Northern No. 4

Indiana Northern No. 4 is a 0-4-0 steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1913 as a switcher for the Indiana Northern Railroad.
The Indiana Northern was a small short line switching railroad in South Bend, Indiana that was just two miles long but had multiple notable customers, including Studebaker and the Oliver Chilled Plow Company. No. 4 operated here switching cars around until 1948, when it and the other steam locomotives on the I.N. were replaced by a single EMD NW2. 
The locomotive was then sold to a gravel pit outside of St. Louis, Missouri where it worked until at least the late 1950s when it was replaced again by another diesel locomotive. By this point the locomotive was thoroughly worn out and was pushed to the end of the gravel pit's tracks off into the weeds. It stayed there, even after the pit ceased operations in 1967 where it was buried up to the running boards in gravel.
In February 1982, Jim Kimmel purchased No. 4 and was given 30 days to remove his purchase out of the frozen gravel pit. After two weeks, No. 4 was removed from its longtime resting spot for the first time in 20 years and was placed on an old siding in town. In 1992, Kimmel sold the locomotive to Dave Miner, the owner of the Fort Madison, Farmington & Western Railroad. No. 4 was relocated to Donnelson, Iowa where Miner wasted no time in beginning the restoration. He completely disassembled the locomotive, having the running gear rebuilt and commencing many other mechanical tasks. Unfortunately, the rebuild was never completed due to Miner's untimely death leaving No. 4 behind to languish until 2008.
The Maynard Family of Aledo, Illinois had been working to revitalize their small hometown into a tourist destination. To do so, they had been acquiring and restoring several old buildings in the town including the wooden Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad depot. The Maynards purchased No. 4 with the intention of re-assembling it into a static display piece for the depot. It was kept in Aledo for cosmetic restoration, but these plans did not materialize as the owner passed away before that work could be completed leaving No. 4 as a disassembled mess of jigsaw puzzle pieces left outside to be exposed to the elements until the summer of 2020.
His estate wound up selling the locomotive to the American Industrial Railroad Society (AIRS), who was formed with the sole purpose of restoring and operating No. 4. In 2022 No. 4 was relocated and stored at a secure facility near Davenport, Iowa where restoration work has commenced. The group hopes that when the locomotive is restored to service that it will travel to and operate at various museums across the country. 
== Trivia ==
* No. 4 supposedly starred in a low-budget film back in the 1980's, according to one of its previous owner's. The exact film is unknown and may be lost to history but the AIRS is currently trying to find it.
* No. 4 was one of the last steam locomotives to operate in Missouri.
== Gallery ==
File:323564270 1334209084070551 8884348926870817958 n.jpg
File:IN4SouthBend.jpg
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File:326732454 1613933112361581 8431281080182581771 n.jpg
File:305054016 644566960608844 6419962654826948969 n.jpg|No. 4 in operation at the gravel pit south of Pacific, Missouri 1957
File:IN41987.jpg
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File:317571917 3325771764419192 6076179697502463376 n.jpg
== References ==
* https://railfan.com/iowa-group-to-restore-0-4-0-steam-locomotive/
* https://www.industrialrails.org/indiana-northern-4
* https://steamengineresource.weebly.com/locomotives-being-restored.html
* https://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/viewtopic.php?t=111531
Category:0-4-0 locomotives
Category:0-4-0 steam locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:Switcher locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:American steam locomotives
Category:American locomotives
Category:Baldwin locomotives
Category:Built in 1913
Category:Indiana Northern Railroad
Category:Preserved steam locomotives
Category:Preserved locomotives
Category:United States
Category:4 foot 8 1⁄2 inch gauge