GREEN BAY & WESTERN #308

Built: June 1955
Builder: ALCO
Type: RS20
Status: Operational; in storage

Diesel locomotive No. 308 was built in June 1955 by the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, New York, for the Green Bay & Western (GB&W) Railroad. The GB&W was a regional railroad operating from Green Bay, Wisconsin to Winona, Minnesota. No. 308 was used in freight service over their lines.

In 1974, No. 308 was rebuilt and upgraded. Changes included the installation of an ALCO 251 prime mover which raised the engine’s horsepower from 1,600 to 2,000, and a lowered short hood (the area of the locomotive in front of the cab) to allow better visibility for the train crew. It was reclassified as an RS20 type locomotive.

In 1993, the Green Bay & Western was acquired by the Wisconsin Central Railroad. The 308 was retired around this time and put up for sale. It was purchased in 1994 by the Kankakee, Beaverville & Southern (KB&S) Railroad, a short line running in eastern Illinois. The KB&S was known by railfans at that time for having an all-ALCO locomotive fleet.

In 2004, when the KB&S retired their ALCO locomotives in favor of newer locomotives from General Motors, No. 308 was purchased by a Monticello Railway Museum member and has been at the museum ever since. While usually in storage at the museum’s Camp Creek Yard, it is occasionally fired up and operated around the property.