Bonanzaville houses a historic locomotive used for many years on the Northern Pacific. Number 684, a 4-4-0 configuration, built by the New York Locomotive Works in 1883. Everytime I walk on the grounds of Bonanzaville I stop to take a look at it. This was the type of engine that opened up the West and would have pulled the first trains through my hometown of Sheldon, onward to Lisbon, ending at Streeter. One source says about 25,000 of these engines were built by various companies.
The signage reads, “it was designed for both passenger and freight service. It was one of eleven purchased at that time. Each locomotive costing $10,500 delivered at St. Paul, Minn. Number 684 was used in main line service until 1928, when it was given general re-conditioning and on September 12, 1928 was sold to the Nezperce and Idaho railway…” NP found her abandoned in a field in 1948 and donated the engine to Bonanzaville.
My model is mighty colorful, while a working engine would not have appeared so nice. Note the bell-shaped spark-arresting smokestack.
Similar to Bonanzaville's
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