Northern
Pacific Engine #1364
NP 1364 worked the western end of the Northern Pacific throughout its career. It worked the Yakima Valley in 1947 and finished its career on the Tacoma Division. In 1954, after 52 years of service, the NP retired this engine and donated it to the Metropolitan Parks District of Tacoma. It was placed near the entry of Point Defiance Park as a static display. In 1975 local railroad enthusiasts moved it to the Nalley's Valley pickle plant for restoration. This restoration attempt failed due to a lack of funding. The locomotive was threatened with scrapping until it was moved to the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad in 1985. It was sitting in pieces and in open storage at Mineral, WA, when in August of 1993 a lease between the Parks District and the Yakima Valley Rail and Steam Museum was finalized.
Engine 1364 arrived in the dry climate of Toppenish on June 29th, 1994. Restoration efforts were begun immediately but were hampered by the lack of an indoor workspace. With the completion of the freight house to engine house conversion, the locomotive was moved inside in February of 2001. Two unanticipated complications have been corrosion in the superheater elements necessitating complete replacement and the extensive corrosion on the tender mandating an entirely new tank which is currently under construction. Work is ongoing, but completion date is unavailable and is partially dependent on funding.
Rebuilding 1364:
The leading truck rebuild has been completed and was reinstalled prior to moving the locomotive into the engine house in February of 2001. There had been a long delay in getting the track connected to the engine house while lease negotiations and funding were held up. This was resolved with the purchase of all the yard track and the addition of the east yard which allows even more storage.
New cab construction was started by Karl Hammerstrom in 2000. New cab sides and doors are shown here. Many appliances were rebuilt during the time that the locomotive sat outside.
The boiler interior and tube sheets have been cleaned and wirebrushed in preparation for retubing the boiler. The boiler exterior was mapped in preparation for ultrasounding in compliance with new FRA regulations. Stress analysis was done on the worst areas of pitting on the boiler and steam dome. Engineering calculations reveal a safety margin well in excess of requirements and it is believed that no repairs will need to be done. Several areas of internal bracing await hot riveting prior to installation of the new flues.
Progress on the backhead as of July 3, 2003. Note the new quadrant for oil firing. The new quadrant and oil control manifold were fabricated in house by David George. The second water sight glass was added to conform to the new FRA regulations.
November 15, 2003 The refurbished sand dome and repaired stack have been lifted into place and secured.
February 2004 The new firefloor and running boards under the cab have been installed. Cutouts were made for the Johnson bar. The entire structure from the frame up and firebox back had to be replaced because of the extensive corrosion on the original pieces. Other pieces had to be fabricated from old blueprints. Note the primer on the lower end of the Johnson bar--the piece was missing so a new one was fabricated. The locomotive was dismantled in 1974 and went through 20 years of storage and 2 moves in a dismantled condition. We feel fortunate that more pieces weren't missing or corroded beyond repair.
The
new cab roof was rebuilt to original specifications with sisal paper followed by
wool felt and canvas. Pictures above and below show the sequence of
covering. The canvas was first soaked and then stretched for final tacking
in place. It was then painted with a mixture of linseed oil and acrylic
paint. As the linseed oil dried the canvas pulled tight and all wrinkles
disappeared.
The
wooden pilot was built by Vic Hansen who fired coal burning locomotives for the
Northern Pacific in the 1950's before becoming an airline pilot. He
finished the pilot in his workshop in Spokane and delivered it when the
locomotive was ready for it to be installed.
Below Chief Mechanical Officer David George and Vic Hanson as the new pilot is lifted into place.
The finished cab was finally installed on the 1364 and new number boards are installed on the sides.
The braking system is a plumber’s nightmare. This system was modified over the years and no original blueprints were available. Other surviving NP S-4 locomotives have a different system. Rebuilding had to be done using brake system diagrams and the few pictures that gave an indication of where components may have been. Most of the original fittings could be rebuilt and reused, but nearly all of the piping had to be replaced.
From
the firemans seat the locomotive is nearing completion. The injector and
related piping is installed in this view from September 2005. In the view
of the engineer's side of the cab one can see the brake valve and assorted
plumbing to enable its operation. Also note the new firedoor which was
constructed using the old mounting brackets for the clamshell doors.
Electrical conduits, fuses and switches are visible on the roof of the
cab. The multiple tags all relate to dates that a particular component was
completed and tested prior to installation.