18 is an SC-4 class 2-8-0 “Consolidation” type steam locomotive, built by ALCO’s Pittsburgh Works in 1910 for the Lake Superior and Ishpeming (LS&I) Railroad in Upper Michigan.

18 was subsequently sold to the Marquette and Huron Mountain tourist railroad, where it was put into storage alongside other steam locomotives.

18 was sold to the Lake States Steam Association, who made attempts to restore the locomotive to operating condition.

In 2007, the locomotive was acquired by businessman Brian Fleming, who in turn sold it to the San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad (SLRG) in Colorado.

[3][4][5] In 1924, the LS&I was reincorporated after merging with the Munising, Marquette and Southeastern Railway (MM&SE), and the former retainted the latter's fleet of three C-5's, expanding the class total to eight.

[3][5][9] The C-5's were also built with narrow keyhole fireboxes that were placed in between their rear sets of driving wheels, and it resulted in their poor abilities to produce steam.

18-24) were sent to the LS&I's Presque Isle locomotive shops to be extensively rebuilt and modified to improve their performance.

[1][7] The upgrades added to the C-5's boosted their tractive effort to 42,000 pounds (19 tonnes), and the rebuilt locomotives were reclassified as SC-4's.

18 was primarily reassigned to pull logging trains on branch lines and to switch hopper cars at iron ore mines.

18 was one of eleven 2-8-0's to be purchased from the LS&I by the newly-formed Marquette and Huron Mountain (M&HM) tourist railroad.

[13][14] The M&HM's owner, John A. Zerbel, sought to use all the locomotives to pull summer tourist trains on former LS&I trackage between Marquette and a proposed resort complex in Big Bay.

19, 22, and 23) were used for tourist excursion service, and plans for the Big Bay resort had fallen through, following overestimated ridership.

[13][14] Following some failed attempts to continue the M&HM's operations, the railroad was permanently closed down by the end of the year, and all remaining equipment was sold at an auction on January 14, 1985.

[15] Wisconsin-based entrepreneur and fellow steam fan John Slack quickly agreed to help Anderson, and he purchased the four SC-4's.

[15][17][18] John Slack made plans to use all four locomotives to pull dinner trains on a proposed tourist railroad in Laona, Wisconsin, and No.

[15][18] The locomotive was moved in December 1986 to the Nicolet Badger Northern Railroad's (NBN) small facility in Laona, where restoration work had started.

[20] During the process, a major contractor terminated their working partnership with Slack's business, and a bank stopped funding the project shortly thereafter.

[15][18][19] Max Biegert subsequently considered pushing GCR's opening date forward to September 17, 1989—the 88th anniversary of the line's 1901 completion—with No.

[15][19] Following some shipping delays created during the transfer process from the C&NW to the Santa Fe, none of the locomotives arrived in Williams, until August 27.

18 was fired up under GCR ownership for the first time, but some test runs had to be conducted before the locomotive could pull the inaugural train.

18 had to stay at a yard in the Grand Canyon Village for overnight repairs, and GCR's two EMD GP7 locomotives had to return the inaugural train to Williams.

18 subsequently underwent a major overhaul to resolve its mechanical problems, before the locomotive returned to service on March 1.

18 pulled GCR's three-car "Hassayampa Special" on the Santa Fe's Peavine mainline from Williams to Phoenix.

[28][35] In October 1996, the Grand Canyon Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) hosted an event that celebrated Ex-Burlington Route 2-8-2 No.

[28][35] By early 2007, businessman Brian Fleming had decided to run a tourist railroad in the Pacific Northwest, and he originally planned to restore locomotive Spokane, Portland and Seattle 539.

[28] Fleming decided that utilizing a smaller locomotive for his operations would be a more feazible option, so he contacted GCR and asked if No.

18 was unloaded onto MHRR's rails, and Fleming's crews immediately began working to restore the locomotive to service; the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) performed an internal inspection of the boiler; the tubes had to be replaced; and a June 22 hydrostatic test revealed minor leaks that needed repairs.

[39] Simultaneously, under the guidance of businessman Ed Ellis and his company, Iowa Pacific Holdings, the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad (RGSR) was operating tourist trains on the San Luis and Rio Grande (SLRG) freight mainline in Colorado, and the railroad utilized one steam locomotive, Southern Pacific 1744.

[43][44] Within the ensuing years, Iowa Pacific Holdings and the SLRG were running into financial troubles and creating debt.

[44][46] In June, locomotive and its tender were shipped separately from Alamosa to the Colebrookdale Railroad's location in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, and crews began to work on the SC-4 inside a small building in Glasgow.