After dropping the fires on its fleet of 2-8-0's in 1962, the Lake Superior and Ishpeming sold three of them to the Marquette & Huron Mountain tourist operation in 1963. Ultimately the M&HM failed, and the consolidations ended up in Marquette on a siding with other retired LS&I 2-8-0's. Still sitting in the weeds in 1986, most, if not all, of the locos escaped the scrapper's torch, ending up at the Illinois Railroad Museum, at the Grand Canyon Railway, and on the Western Maryland Scenic. There are no identifying marks to determine which loco this is, but the larger-diameter boiler and the tender booster suggest that this is either number 35, currently at IRM, or 34, now Western Maryland Scenic 734. The only contemporary photos that I've seen of an LS&I loco with a tender booster is the 35. The 34 has had its tender replaced, and I don't know if its original tender had a booster. Either way, it's remarkable that these locos sat exposed to the elements for over 20 years and were still in good enough shape to be preserved or made operational.
