St. Paul and Duluth Railroad

It was nicknamed named the "Skally Line", likely based upon the Anglicization of the Swedish word "skulle", meaning "would."

The train's engineer James Root and his crew rescued several people escaping from the fire and quickly reversed course racing through flames heading back north toward Duluth stopping at a swamp that locals called "Skunk Lake," now marked as a historical site on the Willard Munger State Trail (see below).

Root suffered cuts from flying glass that came from bursting locomotive and passengers car windows in the intense heat.

Witnesses reported that upon arrival at "Skunk Lake," Root was incoherent and nearly unconscious from smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion.

Note that over 400 people were killed in the wildfire, an amount close to the number of souls originally aboard engine No.

Most of the line originally associated with the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad was abandoned and many segments were turned into rail trails.