The Green Bay & Western Railroad's 265 miles of railroad in Wisconsin required locomotives that were slightly lighter than those used on most other railroads. It used "Moguls" and "Consolidation" on its main line long past the time most railroads had relegated them to branch line and switching duty. Upgrading rail and bridges allowed the GB&W to finally buy some "Mikados" in 1937. These were carefully specified because of weight restrictions, but were about 50 tons heavier than the heaviest locomotives previously operated. There were just six ALCO built "Mikados" purchased. The last one was added to the roster in 1939. These locomotives were designated as Class D-47 and they were assigned road numbers 401-406. By 1950 steam service was gone on the GB&W.

There are no surviving Green Bay & Western 2-8-2 Mikado type locomotives.