Steam locomotive 924 was built in 1899 by Rogers for the St. Paul and Duluth, a shortline railroad extending between the Minneapolis/St. Paul and Duluth. By 1901, that road had been purchased by the Northern Pacific Railway and the 924 0-6-0 was reassigned to Seattle, Washington. Soon it was switching docks, building trains at King Street Station and building freight trains in freight yards from Tacoma to Everett.
By 1924 the 924 had been retired and was sold to the Inland Empire Paper company to switch their paper mill near Spokane. In 1968 the 924 was donated to the Northwest Railway Museum and in 2014 it was listed on the Snoqualmie and King County Landmark Registers. A significant restoration effort returned the 924 to its appearance circa 1908 and during the worldwide pandemic lock down of 2000 it re-emerged under steam, and remains the only operating Northern Pacific Railway steam locomotive in the world.
The 924 is a precious historic resource and operates only a few days a year. The next two opportunities to see this treasure are on the first weekends of October and November. Tickets are available for North Bend departures here and Snoqualmie Departures here.
Please enjoy our photo gallery from our recent August Snoqualmie Days demonstrations.
1 comment:
Very cool indeed! Amazing looking restoration...has to be one of the oldest working steam locomotives in the USA. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
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