Help us give the 1356 her voice back!
Northern Pacific 1356, an icon of Missoula’s railroad history.
Here she is in 1955, being placed on permanent display after being donated to the city by the Northern Pacific Railroad. The 1356 represents over 100 years of community and story, including being a rescue engine in the 1910 fire. Friends of The 1356 have organized to cosmetically restore the engine to remain a proud symbol of Missoula’s railroad past. Photo courtesy Museum of the Rockies, RVN19992
Restoration update
The 1356’s headlight ring has been repaired and the glass replaced with lexan; here Andrew Skibo is checking out what hardware is needed to reinstall it. That should happen this week, as well as her new number boards being placed. The cap for the steam dome has been replaced, as you can see in the photo, again courtesy of Andrew Skibo!
Next, as soon as weather permits, we’ll be power washing the cab interior, removing trash (and dead pigeons) from the firebox and tender, and more. We’re working with the city on a power source so we can get the headlight and cab lighted. Soon, we also want to:
Repair and refurbish the bell
Repair the lighting fixtures behind the headlight, number boards, and engine and tender marker lights
Install a single cab light for future illumination.
We hope to accomplish Phase 2 before the end of the year. This includes repairing and replacing the cab front door frames, the cab roof vent framing; fabricating and installing lexan windows and framing in the cab to prevent weather damage, replacing the safety valve shield plates and… (drum roll) installing a new whistle. For more details, our working plan is here.
The headlight ring for the 1356 was stored in the roundhouse, and when the roundhouse was torn down, it was stored in a garage, for 40 years! It has been returned to us and repaired, and the glass replaced with lexan. Also here’s a shot of one of her new number boards, the “3” of 1356.
Help us give the 1356 her voice back!
A YouTube video with 4-6-0 whistle sounds
Listen to a Rizzoli whistle
The 1356’s whistle would be reserved for occasions and events, and as the engine doesn’t have steam we’d probably have to use an air compressor… But wouldn’t it be great to be able to hear it?!
We’re looking at a reproduction whistle from Rizzoli Locomotive Works. This is a high end item, $2500. We’d talked about making a wooden whistle just for looks, but that would deteriorate and continue to need to be replaced. The whistle from RLW would last for many years, and on a sweet summer evening in Missoula you’d sometimes be able to hear the 1356, just like she was coming into the station over 70 years ago.
Contribute to a whistle for the 1356!
What the 1356 means to Missoula: Your stories
Stories of the brakemen, the firemen, the engineers and their families, and the people of Missoula for whom the railroad was part of the fabric of life. The history of passengers she carried and businesses that depended on her. These are why the 1356 matters to Missoula. If you have a story or photos to share, perhaps a childhood or family memory, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us through the form below, or email stories@missoula1356.org
Philip Dahl worked on the 1356 as a fireman, including its last trip as a helper engine for the North Coast Limited to push the passenger train over Evaro Hill in 1954. Photo by son Mitchell Dahl, on the event of his dad’s retirement.
… and passing the stories on
Trains are magical for adults and children alike, and the 1356 still has plenty of magic, though its fires are out. The 1356, keeper of story and history, community and magic, needs to be preserved for our children.
- Mayor John Engen, May 9, 2009, Missoula 1356 Day
The 1356: A Brave Engine, is a children’s book about the history of the engine, a boy who loves her, and its role in the 1910 fire. Visit here for an excerpt. Hardcover copies are available through our online store, with profits going to Friends of the 1356.
The 1356: A history
Northern Pacific 1356 was built in 1902. First she pulled the NP’s North Coast Limited passenger service between Missoula, Montana, and Spokane, Washington. Later she was reassigned to branch line freight, mixed and passenger service, largely in the Missoula area and between Missoula and Wallace, Idaho.
The engine’s most famous story is her role in 1910 as a rescue engine, when fires raged across the northwest. In the Big Blowup, the 1356 pulled families from Idaho to safety in Missoula, driving through fires on both sides of the track. She worked through floods, through snow slides, and finally a wreck on the Bitterroot River in 1943.
Thirty-six of the 40 S-4 10-wheelers that were built were turned into scrap iron half a century later. The 1356 was saved by photographer Ron Nixon and William McLeod of Missoula when they convinced the NP to refurbish her and donate her to the city of Missoula as a static display.
Here is her history, with photographs, from the Summer 2006 Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association’s Mainstreeter.
The 1356 when she was a year old, posed in front of the coal dock in Spokane, Washington, in 1903.
Melberg photo, Museum of the Rockies RVN06916
Speak up for Missoula’s 1356!
Community response is an important part of grants, fundings and permissions. Please let us know by checking “yes” in the box below if you’d like to see this historic engine maintained. We’d also love to hear your questions, suggestions, and welcome your expertise. You can sign up for our mailing list here too, and here’s a link to our previous newsletters.
NP X1356E, with NP 1356, Class S-4 locomotive moving freight between Missoula and Bonner, MT, June 23, 1942.
Ron V. Nixon photo, Museum of the Rockies RVN11827
Show your support for the 1356 with a T-shirt or hoodie!
Proceeds benefit the 1356 restoration
