The 1246 has arrived!
In the last TrainMuseum blog post, details of the locomotive and its acquisition were revealed. Now it has arrived in Snoqualmie, returning to the Puget Sound region after an absence of more than 40 years!
The Great Northern Railway 1246 is popularly known as the Woodland Park Zoo steam locomotive. Displayed near the south entry to the park from 1953 until 1980, this Baldwin built Consolidation locomotive thrilled thousands of children of all ages.On Tuesday, April 25, the 1246 was bifurcated - the locomotive boiler was removed from the steam engine and drivers - and each was set on a heavy haul truck.As heavy and robust as a locomotive may be, it must be handled with care or else critical components could be damaged. The boiler was carefully rigged to prevent damage.
The 1246 is a freight locomotive and it is heavy - more than 130 tons when paired and operating with a tender. Local crane company Imhoff recently sold to Campanoli Crane but the 1246 move allowed their large conventional crane to return to Snoqualmie for a few days.Steven Butler from Morton Locomotive and Machine Works coordinated the move from Merrill, Ore to Snoqualmie, and the entire move went off without a hitch.Please consider a contribution to the Northwest Railway Museum to help offset the more than $88,000 cost of repatriating this amazing artifact.
