Something borrowed, something new...

We are starting to send back parts we borrowed from the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in order to move the 5057 to the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad shop in Usk, WA.

This week, composite brake shoes and a P2-A brake application valve are being removed from the 5057 and returned.

The P2-A brake application valve

Next, we need to fabricate a replacement for the missing rear pilot plate.  We used one from Western Pacific 501, an EMC SW1, to get the 5057 back to Washington.  It fit pretty well, but we are contacting the Illinois Railway Museum to request the dimensions of the rear pilot plate on the 5056 so we can duplicate it.  The 5056 is the other surviving Milwaukee Road U25B. 

You can see the gap under the coupler where the rear pilot plate should be.

Since the restoration work on the 5057 and 5056 will face many similar challenges, we hope to build a good working relationship with the Illinois Railway Museum. 

In the meantime, we are still working with staff at the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad to develop a plan for the restoration work on the 5057.  Stay tuned!

Thirty-five years ago - March 1980

Thirty-five years ago this month, the 5057 left Washington as the Milwaukee Road packed up and abandoned the state.

At the time no one probably would have guessed that it would ever come back, let alone be the focus of a campaign to cosmetically restore it and display it at Cle Elum.  Who knew then that it would be one of the few survivors and someday be tasked with introducing future generations to the fascinating, bittersweet history of the Milwaukee Road?  Yet there it sits today in Usk, WA, on the former Milwaukee Road branch to Metaline Falls, thanks to the efforts of many railfans, former Milwaukee Road employees, and other friends.

It has come far, but still has a long way to go before it finally returns to Cle Elum.  Together, the Friends of the 5057 will eventually bring it home.

The Burlington Northern dispatcher at Maple Valley, WA documented the last trip of the 5057 between Black River, WA and Maple Valley, WA on March 13, 1980.

The train with the 5057 finally arrived in Cle Elum on March 14, 1980 after taking 12 hours to make the 55-mile trip from Cedar Falls.

5057 in the news

We have received some good publicity about the movement of the 5057 back to Washington.

The North Kittitas County Tribune newspaper (Cle Elum) published an article in December illustrated with a photo by Rob Jacox. The Daily Record newspaper in Ellensburg also published an article in January. You can read the Daily Record article here.

More recently, Railfan and Railroad published a news item about the move in the February issue of the magazine, with a photo by Ted Curphey of it heading to Usk on the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad. 

We are working with the folks at POVA to plan the restoration work and hope to have some news to report soon.  Stay tuned!

An end of a journey and the beginning of a new phase

The 5057 is now at the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad shop in Usk, WA!

Many contributed to get the locomotive there from Portola,CA and we are very thankful for their participation.

• The volunteers at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum showed that the spirit of the "Willing People" is very much alive today.  They made every effort to help us launch this project successfully, including loaning us parts and contributing time that could have otherwise been focused on their own projects.

• BNSF not only donated the transportation costs for their part of the movement, but the people there were also very responsive and helpful throughout the process.

• And of course, the many Friends of the 5057 who have contributed their time and money to get the project to this point. 

With this phase of the project complete, we are moving on to the next.  Over the coming weeks, we will be working with the staff at the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad to scope out the work that will be done to cosmetically restore the 5057.  We'll be looking for ways to break the work up into smaller sub-projects so we can make progress as funds are raised. 

We have enough funds on hand to make a good start on the work that needs to get done for the cosmetic restoration, but we will need more funds to finish this phase of the project.  Make a contribution today to propel the restoration of the 5057 forward!

5057 to Washington - 12/15/2014 update

The journey to the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad shop in Usk, WA is almost complete!  BNSF delivered  the 5057 to the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad in Sandpoint, ID last night at 9:36 p.m.  Yes it left Washington, but we expect it back very soon!

5057 to Washington - 12/11/2014 update

The 5057 left Pasco last night and was in Spokane this morning.  It may be leaving Spokane tonight on the Sandpoint local, for delivery to the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad in Sandpoint.

UPDATE: We've heard that it is scheduled to leave Spokane on the 14th at about 4 p.m.  In that case, it should be in Sandpoint on Monday.

Richard Olson was able to take some photos of the 5057 while it was in Pasco and shared them with us.  You can see them below.

5057 to Washington - 12/9/2014 update

The 5057 is back in Washington!   It crossed the Columbia River and arrived at Wishram, WA last night, probably very early this morning.  A new crew will take the train it is on to Pasco, WA.