New LED lights shine bright on Soo Line Steam Engine #730. Workers from NK Electric volunteered their time and labor to help install these new lights, which will be shining from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. throughout the summer. (Escanaba Daily Press photo)

GLADSTONE — Progress regarding the efforts to restore and preserve Soo Line Steam Engine #730, located alongside southbound lane of US-2 in Gladstone, can now be seen on the historic landmark.

Electricians from NK Electric in Escanaba volunteered their time and labor to help replace all of the light fixtures in and around Engine #730 last week.

The Soo Line Steam Engine Restoration project began in the summer months of 2021 when Gladstone native John Pickard formed a committee to oversee the rehabilitative process.

“It feels really good to get things moving,” Pickard, project coordinator for the restoration of the Engine #730, said. “The engine looks really cool lit up.”

With new lights donated by WPPI, the utility provider for Gladstone, electricians first replaced the main headlight and two classification lights located on the front-end of Engine #730. Once those were up and running, new LED floodlights were installed along the roof of the engine’s canopy shelter, replacing their old and burnt-out counterparts.

“With the new LED lights, it is going to cost a lot less money to run,” Pickard said. “The LED light on the front of the engine flickers, so it is really cool when you come down the highway and see it flickering as you pass.”

Pickard started the Soo Line Steam Engine Restoration project after watching the engine’s condition worsen over the past 20 years. Pickard’s father, who had worked for the Soo Line Railroad for 42 years, used to look after Engine #730 every summer with several other Soo Line employees. However, as the engine’s caretakers began to pass away, the engine’s recognition and importance in the community began to fade as well.

However, continued efforts by Pickard and Jack Soderman, retired Soo Liner and one of the engine’s caretakers, has involved collaborating with city officials and local businesses.

“Thanks to the city of Gladstone employees, they have been keeping the grass down around the engine,” Pickard said. “Now we are working with the railroad to get some of their stuff moved away from the engine.”

While Engine #730 had received a total makeover in 1999, thanks to a generous donation by the president of Escanaba Lake Superior Railroad, John Larkin, lack of upkeep has left the engine’s paint to fade and canopy shelter to be overtaken by pigeons.

In an attempt to prevent such a thing from happening again, Pickard and Soderman are raising funds to purchase bird netting that will enclose and protect this piece of Gladstone history.

“Fundraising is going well, but we haven’t met our goal just yet. We are about $500 short,” Pickard said. “[Soderman] raised money at a baseball game … and people have been really great about donating.”

Once the bird netting is secured, further restorative measures can begin. This will include repainting Engine #730 in it’s entirety, along with cleaning the canopy shelter and surrounding area.

In the long-term, Pickard hopes to transform the site of Engine #730 into a historical marker and time-line kiosk.

“My ultimate goal or vision is to make a museum and welcome center here,” Pickard said. “I don’t want the train to go anywhere. I think it is a great location right here.”

Engine #730’s new lights can be seen from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. throughout the summer months, and the parking space around the engine is open all day to the public. T-shirt sales are set to begin shortly to help offset the remaining costs for the restoration project.

Those looking to help preserve Engine #730 can address donations to the City of Gladstone c/o Soo Steam Engine #730, 1100 Delta Ave., Gladstone, MI 49837.