Great Northern F45 441 will soon ride the BNSF Railway from Albia, Iowa, to Essex, Montana. This locomotive has been restored as luxury “Locomotive Lodging” and will be installed at the Izaak Walton Inn on the border of Glacier National Park.

The locomotive interior is being converted to a deluxe living accommodation featuring a master suite, spacious living area and fully equipped kitchen. It will be decked out with antique oak hardwood floors complimenting a fireplace, providing a rustic and inviting interior worthy of Glacier Park.

The operators cab, including control stand, seats and electrical cabinet, has been restored to better than new condition. The cooling fans have been converted to skylights with glass above the fans. At the flick of a switch, the engine access doors will open to a picture window view of the adjacent BNSF mainline.

Restoration work and rough interior construction was performed by RELCO Locomotives. They used original EMD paint diagrams to apply the resplendent Great Northern “Big Sky Blue” paint scheme. Interior finishing will be completed after installation at Essex, and it is expected to be ready for lodging in the fall of 2009. For more information including photos and floor plan, or booking information, visit: http://www.izaakwaltoninn.com

-submitted by John Licht, originally posted to Yahoo groups by Joel G. Kirchner.