Erie Mining Company No. 4210

Erie Mining Company No. 4210 is an EMD F9a built in 1956 for the Erie Mining Company, and is currently owned by the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City, NC.
==History==
4210 was one of One of 5 A-Units built for the Erie Mining Company in Minnesota, alongside an additional 6 B-Units. Originally numbered 100, Operations on the line began in 1957, the year after the locomotive's construction. The Erie Mining Co. ran a 72-mile route, hauling Talconite pellets from its mine and plant at Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota, to the community of Taconite Harbor, on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The locomotive would be renumbered to 4210 around 1970. The operation would be acquired by LTE Steel in 1987, who would continue to operate the railroad until they eventually closed the taconite mine in 2001. The line would be revived twice, once in 2004, in order to haul leftover chips and pellets from the mine due to high iron prices, and then again in 2008, where the 4210 and 3 B-Units would haul pellet and fines from Taconite Habor to Hoyt Lakes, for shipment by rail, becoming the last A-Unit to run on the line. Following this, the locomotive, alongside sister 4214, and the 3 B-Units, would be stored at Hoyt Lake. The 3 B-Units would be scrapped by December of 2014, with the 4210 and 4214 set aside for preservation.https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/in-minnesota-f-units-scrapped-saved/
In 2015, both locomotives would be acquired by the Vermillion Valley Railroad in Indiana for use on Freight Trains. The 4210 would be repainted into its original Erie Mining Co. Colors, albeit with the Vermillion Valley Railroad name and logo, in 2017. In order to comply with Federal regulations, the engine would be modified with an emergency brake valve in the cab, and later, FRA "safety glass."https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/27-erie-mining-f-repainted/ The locomotive would used on the Vermillion Valley until 2021, when the line changed ownership. 
On October 6th, 2023, The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad out of Bryson City, NC, announced they had acquired the locomotive for excursion service, becoming the railroad's first streamlined diesel. It officially entered service with GSMR in November of 2023 for the railroad's popular Polar Express Train Ride, retaining its Erie Mining Company Colors, but with new GSMR markings.https://www.facebook.com/GreatSmokyMountainsRailroad/posts/pfbid02mtuaCMgaVYbsV5zvvaJ8FKTFqnLjiLuY5tkUagi4HF4t7aZzRXTHp11uHE1RXHwgl 
==References==