On Wednesday, June 3, 2026, IRM’s latest acquisition arrived at the Museum. Will County Coal Handling (WCCH) 1802 is an SD20-type diesel locomotive that was originally built in 1959 and was remanufactured in 1979 by the Illinois Central Gulf (ICG). It is the Museum’s first ICG locomotive and a product of the famed Paducah locomotive remanufacturing program.

This locomotive was built by the Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of General Motors in La Grange, IL, in 1959 as an SD-24B freight locomotive for the Union Pacific (UP). It was a “booster” locomotive, equipped without a cab, and was numbered UP 427B. Mechanically, it was nearly identical to Chicago Burlington & Quincy 504, preserved today in the IRM collection. In 1977, UP 427B was sold to the ICG, and in 1979, that railroad’s Paducah, KY, shops remanufactured it into an SD20. This work included replacing the 567 prime mover with a newer 2,000-horsepower 645E model, upgrading the locomotive’s electrical system, and adding a cab.

Following its rebuild, the SD20 emerged on October 24, 1979, as ICG 2002, the third SD20 outshopped as part of the Paducah rebuild program. As ICG 2002, the locomotive remained in service until 1995, when it was retired and sold. It briefly went to the Twin Cities & Western, then to the Red River Valley & Western, but in 1997 it was sold to Commonwealth Edison for use in moving coal trains. It was numbered ComEd 1908, but later became WCCH 1802 and was used at the NRG Will County Generating Station in southwest suburban Romeoville, IL.

IRM thanks NRG for donating this historic locomotive and thanks Professional Locomotive Services for their work in readying it for shipment. IRM is asking for donations to support the preservation and maintenance of WCCH 1802. Donations to the Diesel Department’s Equipment Restoration fund can be made at this link.