BUTTE, Mont. – Turn off Harrison Ave. into the parking lot of the Butte Civic Center and there between the asphalt and the Town Pump gas station next door sits Northern Pacific No. 25, one of 13 2-8-0s built in 1899 by the Schenectady Locomotive Works for the railroad. No. 25 lugged freight and passenger trains over Homestake Pass until its retirement in 1958. With help from the Butte Jaycees, the locomotive was donated to the city and, on July 3, 1958, displayed and dedicated to the children of the community.
Now 67 years later, Butte is remembering its history through Northern Pacific No. 25 and plans to cosmetically restore the locomotive and enhance the exhibit and landscaping that surrounds it.
“ … Engine 25 helped build Butte to what it is today,” says Al Hess, coordinator of the Engine 25 Restoration Group, in a recent EP Media interview. “Homestake Pass was one of the main railway lines into Butte. Coming down Homestake Pass is pretty easy, but heading up Homestake … its got quite a grade. And that’s why these engines were devised, to help push.”
Hess has a personal connection with the project. His father was an engineer on No. 25 and dropped the locomotive’s last fire before it was retired.
As with many locomotives on static display in public places, No. 25 has suffered from exposure to the weather and other forms of deterioration. The current restoration project has a budget between $300,000 and $350,000. It will include new stylized fencing around the locomotive and a roof system for protection from the elements. Cosmetic work has already begun on the locomotive.
For more information about the Northern Pacific No. 25 restoration project please visit the Engine 25 Restoration website. Also visit the group’s Facebook page for additional information about the locomotive and project progress.
