When delivered to the Great Northern in April 1930, 2584 was assigned to the railroad's premier passenger trains such as the Empire Builder and Oriental Limited between St. Paul, Minnesota and Seattle, Washington as well as fast mail trains.

Initially, the locomotive was assigned to the flatter districts due to the districts having long tangents, easy curves and light grades,[3] then a test in 1931 proved the class was capable of pulling the Empire Builder over the Divide between Havre and Whitefish, Montana where grades are up to 1.8% and the locomotive was also assigned to the Divide and eventually as far east as St. Paul, Minnesota, where the Empire Builder starts on the Great Northern's mainline.

2584 and her sister locomotives were repainted from their original Glacier Green to black.

[5] In late 1956, 2584 made its final run and was stored in a roundhouse in Superior, Wisconsin, had its axle boxes painted red and sat there for years.

2584 was retired in December 1957 and on March 21, 1958, the Great Northern had decided to hold it for historical purposes and it was eventually repainted to its original "Glacier Park" paint scheme and today is owned by Great Northern's eventual successor, Burlington Northern Santa Fe.