A recently-restored Northern Pacific 4-6-0 was fired up and moved under its own power for the first time in 73 years in Washington on February 21. The Northern Pacific Railway Museum in Toppenish, Wash., has been working on NP 1364 for over a decade and fired it up for the first time on New Year’s Day. 

Locomotive 1364 was one of 40 S-4 class 4-6-0s that the NP purchased in 1902 from Baldwin. NP 1364 was assigned to the Tacoma Division and spent most of its operating life in Washington State. It was retired in 1954 but was set aside for preservation and donated to the City of Tacoma. It was on display for several years before being moved to Nallys Valley for an ultimately unsuccessful restoration. Later, it was relocated to the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad. In 1994, it was moved to the Northern Pacific Railway Museum in Toppenish, and volunteers have been gradually working on it ever since. 

On February 21, the engine was moved back and forth on a short stretch of track at the museum. The museum said it would announce opportunities to see the engine under steam in the near future. For more information, visit nprymuseum.org.

—Justin Franz