Built for Stalin. Rejected by the Cold War. Reborn in Montana | Little Joe EF-4

In 1946, General Electric started building twenty giant electric locomotives for the Soviet Union. By the time they were finished, the Cold War had shut the door on the sale. Twelve of them ended up with the Milwaukee Road, which bought them for about $1 million and put them to work in the Montana and Idaho mountains. Crews called them "Little Joes." They ran until the railroad's electric operations ended in 1974. In this story, we follow a fictional restoration of one of those locomotives: found abandoned at the end of a forgotten line, taken apart piece by piece, rebuilt, repainted, and finally powered up and sent back down the wire. 🚂 ABOUT THE LOCOMOTIVE • Type: Milwaukee Road Little Joe, class EF-4 • Builder: General Electric, Erie, Pennsylvania • Wheel arrangement: 2-D+D-2 (12 axles, 8 powered) • Power: about 5,500 hp • Length: about 88 ft • Original order: 20 locomotives for Soviet Railways, 1946 • Bought by: Milwaukee Road (12 units) • Electric service ended: 1974 ⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTE This video is a fictional, AI-assisted story inspired by the real history of the Milwaukee Road Little Joe locomotives. The restoration, the company "Rider Auto," and the unit number shown are not real. The historical background (the Soviet order, the Cold War, the Milwaukee Road purchase) is based on public sources. 👍 If you enjoy railroad history and restoration stories, like the video, subscribe, and tell us in the comments: which classic locomotive should we bring back next? #LittleJoe #MilwaukeeRoad #ElectricLocomotive #RailroadHistory #Restoration