An early morning view of Steam Railroading Institute’s Pere Marquette 1225 as it sits on the turntable at Owosso, Michigan. It was being serviced by crews before it backed up to the ash pit in preparation for another day of pulling the North Pole Express between Owosso and Ashley, Michigan, along the Great Lakes Railroad on December 17th, 2023.
According to their website, Pere Marquette 1225, the largest and most impressive piece in the Steam Railroading Institute’s collection, is one of the largest operating steam locomotives in Michigan. The 1225 was built in October of 1941 by the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio for the Pere Marquette Railway. It’s part of the National Register of Historic Structures and is renowned for its role in the 2004 Warner Brothers Christmas Classic, THE POLAR EXPRESS™. 1225’s blueprints were used as the prototype for the locomotive image as well as its sounds to bring the train in the animated film to life!
Tech Info: DJI Mavic 3 Classic Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/10, ISO 680.