GN 400 was the first of eight SD45s delivered to the Great Northern in May and June 1966. GN 400 was the fourth SD45 built by EMD after the first three demonstrators. Great Northern christened it with its nickname, "Hustle Muscle." All eight SD45s wore Great Northern's simplified orange and green paint scheme, but only 400 wore a nickname. In total, Great Northern owned 27 SD45s built from 1966 through 1968. In 1970, the GN became part of the Burlington Northern. The locomotive was renumbered to 6430, but through 1972 it still wore its GN paint, with the GN logos removed. In 1973, the locomotive underwent a massive "class-one overhaul", and was painted into BN's cascade green scheme. At the request of railfans, BN kept its nickname painted on both sides of its long hood. The BN retired 6430 in 1986, and donated the locomotive to the Great Northern Railway Historical Society. In 1989, the locomotive was repainted back into its original GN appearance and renumbered back to 400 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The locomotive was then kept in Duluth, Minnesota on display and in operation until the early 2000s when it was moved to the former Great Northern Jackson Street Roundhouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which houses the Minnesota Transportation Museum. In 2006, the 400 was repainted a second time in Horicon, Wisconsin. The second repaint was completed using the original EMD and GN diagrams of the locomotive. The locomotive is housed at the Minnesota Transportation Museum's Jackson Street Roundhouse, where the 400 was serviced while operating for the Great Northern Railway.
Present-day operations
Prior to moving to Duluth, it was displayed in LaGrange, IL in September 1989 for EMD's 50th Anniversary of the FT diesel, along with other EMD power. The locomotive then operated on the North Shore Scenic Railroad, sometimes being paired with Soo Line 1003 or Duluth & Northern Minnesota 14. After moving from Duluth to St. Paul, the locomotive was called into duty for special excursions, including operating with Milwaukee Road 261 and pulling Great Northern Railway Historical Society and National Railway Historical Society charters. In 2001, it operated on a circle tour with the 261 from the Twin Cities to Superior, then west through Brainerd then south through Staples and east back to the Twin Cities through St. Cloud. It was featured in the 2002 "Railroad Days" in Galesburg, IL. It pulled a National Railway Historical Society excursion from the Twin Cities to Duluth in 2009 and running some excursions and photo trips on the North Shore Scenic Railroad. Otherwise, 400 was often displayed inside MTM's roundhouse, occasionally pulling their Saturday caboose rides. It was ferried in 2006 to the Wisconsin Southern for a repaint and returned to the Minnesota Transportation Museum in 2007. In 2014 and 2015, the locomotive was displayed for special events at St. Paul Union Depot. In 2015 the Minnesota Transportation Museum and the Great Northern Railway Historical Society signed a two-year operating lease to have the 400 operate on MTM's Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway in Osceola, WI, in place of MTM's Soo Line GP7 which is undergoing maintenance. After being displayed in St. Paul through May, the locomotive was ferried to Osceola for its first year of regular excursions. GN 400 pulled many trains during the 2015 season including a special for the 2015 Great Northern Convention and for photo charters. It was often set aside just for special runs. At the end of the 2015 season, BNSF railway transported GN 400 to their diesel shop in Northtown yard for a "class one inspection". After some testing on revenue local trains, GN 400 was given a "clean bill of health" and was returned to the Jackson Street Roundhouse. In 2016 the 400 was a co-star in a railfan photographer special on May 2 with its former Duluth 'bunkmate' Soo Line 2500. It operated every weekend of May and June 2016 and October 2016. It returned to display at the Jackson Street Roundhouse and went to BNSF for maintenance in March 2017. In 2019, following its third restoration, the GNRHS and Lake Superior Railroad Museum agreed to have the locomotive displayed and operated in Duluth, MN while the Minnesota Transportation Museum restored Soo Line GP7 559 and continued work on Great Northern SD7 558 and Great Northern F7A 454. GN 400 arrived Duluth June 7, 2019. In July, it was displayed in Dilworth, MN during the 2019 Great Northern Convention in Fargo, ND, before returning to Duluth for operation.
Engine Failure & Replacement
In May 2017, while undergoing routine maintenance in preparation for the 2017 Osceola excursion season, the 400 suffered a crankshaft failure in its original 20-645E engine requiring a replacement engine to be installed. BNSF Railway overhauled a 20-645E engine from a retired ex-ATSF SD45-2 and donated and installed the new engine in January 2019 at no cost to the museum or historical society. The 400's engine replacement was completed in April 2019 and the locomotive operated under its own power for the first time with its new engine.
