Saving The 1356: Missoula’s historic icon
Northern Pacific 1356, the steam engine in front of the old depot at the north end of Higgins Avenue, is an icon of Missoula’s railroad history.
Trains were once at the heart of everything: families coming to homestead, young men going to war. Sons and daughters leaving home for adventure and coming back again. The lion’s share of goods and services people depended on came on the train. Missoula’s engine, the 1356, was all those things and more. Most famously, she was a rescue engine in the 1910 fire.
Built in 1902 and given to the city in 1955, the 1356 represents over 100 years of community and story. While the engine is much loved and well remembered, it’s fallen into a state of disrepair: paint worn off, letters peeling, pigeons roosting in the cab. Friends of The 1356 are organizing to restore the engine to what she should be: a proud symbol of Missoula’s railroad past. Our immediate goal is to gather community support! Keep reading to see how you can help.
Show your support for the 1356 with a T-shirt or hoodie!
Proceeds benefit the 1356 restoration
What the 1356 means to Missoula: Start with 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
The 1356 was given to the City of Missoula in 1955. Here she is at her dedication with a crowd and a marching band. November 10, 1955, R. V. Nixon photo, Museum of the Rockies RVN20077
Next, plan for maintenance and restoration…
The top photo is of the 1356 when it was painted and maintained. The bottom photo is how it looks today, with paint worn off, letters peeling, and pigeons roosting in the cab. At the very least, the engine needs cosmetic restoration: cleaned and stabilized, a barrier put in place to keep the pigeons out. Paint in the most needy spots where it’s practically down to bare metal, and later a complete paint job. It would be great to replace the number boards, to add lighting, including a headlight, and in time rebuild the cab, and finally, to organize the engine’s yearly maintenance.
Any work done on the 1356 needs to be approved by the city. Pending approval, friends of the 1356 are are looking at how we can work with the city, and at ways to finance this with grants and donations. The working plan for her restoration is here.
… 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. We need your support! 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.
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