January calendar shot, 1356 leaving Missoula with the Phillipsburg local, April 24, 2943. Ron V. Nixon photo, Museum of the Rockies RVN07176

January, 2026 calendar page links: More about 1356’s restoration

70 years ago, Northern Pacific Engine 1356 was given to the City of Missoula by the Northern Pacific Railroad and placed on permanent display at the end of North Higgins Avenue, to much fanfare. The engine has stood in place for many years now without any protection from the weather. The last maintenance it had was in 2003, when asbestos was removed and the locomotive repainted.

A group of us felt this historic icon, so important to Missoula’s community and railroad history, needed her story told, and it would be a sad tale indeed if the engine was allowed to deteriorate and be destroyed. We organized in 2024, formed a 501(c)3 which was approved in early 2025, and entered into a partnership agreement with the City of Missoula for the engine’s cosmetic restoration.

2025 was our first full year of working on that restoration. Here’s what we’ve done:

Placed a new cover on the exhaust stack.

Restored the number boards and headlight lens with lexan.

The pigeons living in the cab have been evicted and the cab cleaned out and sealed.

Scott Wolff painted the semaphores at the engine, and placed their arms in the correct positions. He also sourced solar panels, and they’re now lighted.

Andrew Skibo sourced and installed a clapper for the bell, so it can now ring to open Farmers Market.

Thanks to a Garnet Ghost Town License Plate grant, electrical work has been done. The headlight and number boards are now lighted for the first time in 70 years, and we lit the engine with holiday lights for Christmas. Also thanks to Garnet Ghost Town, the tender will be patched and welded this spring.

1356 is now on the National Historic Register. Dan Hall of Preserve Historic Missoula completed the application, and it was approved in January

Next, we’re planning to rebuild cab. When we get the cab rebuilt and the tender repaired, we’ll be able to start looking at a complete paint job. Then we can start designing and installing interpretive signage and a kiosk.

We’re also planning a fund to maintain the engine for years to come. Now that it’s on the historic register, we’re hoping to get a large enough grant to build a roof for protection.

For your interest: Displayed Steam Locomotives, Their Care and Maintenance, a document from 1974 that “provides all the information needed to prepare a steam locomotive for static display so that it does not deteriorate. The author provides detailed advice that will be useful to civic groups about how to achieve this at a reasonable price so that what should be a source of community pride does not succumb to vandals and rust.”