Steam locomotive number 1218 was one of 12 received from the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1910 and was used first by the Duluth and Iron Range Railway as number 218 and later by the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway as number 1218 to haul rich iron ore from the Soudan Mine to Lake Superior ports. The engine could haul 48 loaded 50 ton cars, or 2700 tons. It was later replaced by heavier and more powerful locomotives and was donated by the DM&IR to the city of Tower in 1962 for display and historical purposes. In 2002, the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway was said to be the largest iron ore handling railroad in North America, with 212 miles of track, moving ore from Minnesota's Mesabi Range taconite plants to dock facilities at Duluth and Two Harbors or to connecting railroads at Superior, Wisconsin.