I never had a model train, that is until a year or so ago when I ran across a model engine of an old 4-4-0 steam engine, complete with a large spark-arresting smoke stack, cowcatcher, and large headlamp. About 25,000 of the real thing were manufactured by several different companies, but the few survivors are mostly relegated to displays like the one under roof at Bonanzaville in West Fargo. They probably didn’t have the power to pull very long trains, but that is a question for an old-time railroader to answer. Whatever the length, those engines headed trains made up of grain cars, cattle cars, freight cars, passenger cars, coal cars, flat cars, and whatever kind of configuration the planners dreamed up. We can’t forget the historical appeal of the little red caboose that trailed the whole thing.
Anecdotes about the 4-4-0 abound. One that caught my eye came from just west of the Missouri River near the little town of Shields. The Milwaukee Railroad built a branch line to service little towns such as McLaughlin, Shields, Selfridge, Mott, and New England. This story came from the Grant County history book: “The first Milwaukee train arrived in Shields in 1910. They had to stop to open and close gates where the railroad went through Charley McLaughlin’s pasture and the Parkin’s lease.” Can anyone imagine a train stopping today to open and close pasture gates? The picture of it shows a chuffing 4-4-0 hooked to its front.
It must have been an exciting time at Bismarck when a stout railroad bridge first crossed the Missouri River in October of 1882. To demonstrate the bridge’s strength and safety, they parked eight 4-4-0s in the middle of the span. It didn’t collapse. Prior to the completion of the bridge, trains did cross the Missouri, but only on ice. A February 15, 1879 Bismarck Tribune article states, “A party of about twenty of America’s prominent business men, inspired with a greed for fame and a relish for notoriety, jumped aboard Chief Engineer Rosser’s car Wednesday noon and started westward to take the first trip across the Missouri River on a Northern Pacific railroad train.
The popular television show “Hell on Wheels” centered around the building of the transcontinental railroad that culminated in the meeting of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads on May 10, 1969. At Promontory Summit, Utah, a large celebration came together for the driving of the last rail spike, a golden one. Pictures of the event show two engines, “Jupiter” and “No. 119,” both 4-4-0s, standing head to head. No longer would people heading west need to travel on horseback, stagecoach, or wagon train to get to their destination.
In another film, “The Great Locomotive Chase,” two of our subject 4-4-0 engines were involved. One called “General” was stolen by Union spies in an attempt to cripple the Confederate rail network during the Civil War. After the heist, the Confederates boarded another engine, “Texas,” and gave chase. Union men had cut the telegraph wires which prevented Confederates from sending warnings ahead. Confederates eventually captured the raiders and quickly executed some as spies while some others were able to flee. Several raiders were the first to be awarded the Medal of Honor by the US Congress for their actions.
The Northern Pacific undertook a propaganda campaign to entice settlers to come into this heartland because they’d been granted huge tracts of land on which to build their rail lines. Now they needed cash for their construction costs as well as enticing immigrants who would provide customers for future freight income. To estimate the value of this land they sent land examiners to walk the ground and evaluate it. One story taken from the North Dakota History Journal of Spring, 1987 tells us where one examiner on June 5, 1883 arrived and gave this account after reaching Fargo: “We changed cars here taking the train, which was a mixed one, on the Fargo and Southwestern a new road complete as yet only as far as Lisbon with one passenger car and a second class car full of people besides a long line of freight cars… The only station of any account is Sheldon where there are about 25 buildings large and small including a good R.R. station and elevator. The road is still rough and has a very incomplete aspect. We reached Lisbon about 2 P.M. It is a little town of some 250 buildings scattered over a low plain on the west side of the Sheyenne River.” The story is much more detailed, but it illustrates the early days of the railroad in Ransom County. While it does not mention the engine type pulling this train, I will bet it was a 4-4-0.
No. 684, the engine on display at Bonanzaville in West Fargo, earned retirement after serving various rail companies in different parts of the country. Built in 1883 by the New York Locomotive Works at a cost of $10,500, it was designed for both passenger and freight service. It worked on main line service until 1928 and was then sold to the Nezperce and Idaho railway. It finally made its way to its final resting spot as a relic of a bygone era with its steam whistles, coal smoke, smells, and sounds of banging when the engine started forward and took up the slack of their hitches.
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