Little Joe

CSLP No. 70 “Little Joe” is a 1949-built EMD NW2 switcher whose life has been shaped by work rather than speed. Constructed during the final years of NW2 production, the locomotive represents the mature form of EMD’s classic yard engine—simple, durable, and built to pull at low speed all day without complaint. Rated at 1,000 horsepower and powered by the reliable 12-567 prime mover, No. 70 was never meant to roam the mainline. From the beginning, it was built to live where the work was close, heavy, and constant.

Little Joe’s working life began in the heart of the Midwest, switching cars at a large grain elevator and milling complex in Hutchinson, Kansas. There, the locomotive handled boxcars and covered hoppers during intense harvest seasons, often starting before sunrise to keep elevator tracks clear as grain poured in from the surrounding plains. Seasonal surges meant long, demanding days followed by quieter months, a rhythm that built experience without excessive mileage. It was here that the locomotive first wore high-visibility industrial yellow, a practical choice in a landscape crowded with trucks, conveyors, and loaders.

In the mid-1960s, No. 70 moved north to the Great Lakes, entering service at a steel fabrication plant near Cleveland, Ohio. This chapter would define the locomotive’s character. Switching heavy cuts of mill gondolas and flats within tight industrial trackage, the NW2 proved its strength not through speed, but through steady, deliberate pulling power. Winters were harsh, movements were short and repetitive, and maintenance was pragmatic. The locomotive emerged from this era with the lugging, workmanlike feel that crews still notice today—a machine that leans into the job and never hurries.

By the late 1980s, changes in the steel industry sent Little Joe into a new phase of life, switching cars in the Baltimore Harbor Industrial District. Working among warehouses, light manufacturing plants, and port-adjacent customers, the locomotive spent decades performing the quiet, unspectacular work that keeps industrial rail service alive. Tight curves, short moves, and constant spotting defined this era, along with at least one mechanical refresh that kept the aging switcher reliable well into the 21st century.

After years of industrial service, No. 70 was stored and later marketed through Spring Creek Rail Services in Deshler, Nebraska, before finding a permanent home on the Clearwater Pacific Railway in 2025. Renumbered CSLP 70 and nicknamed “Little Joe”—a nod to both steel-mill folk hero Joe Magarac and Milwaukee Road heritage—the locomotive now serves as CSLP’s dedicated yard engine. Powerful, deliberate, and happiest at dawn, Little Joe continues to do what he has always done best: put his shoulder into the work and get the railroad ready for the day.