SKYKOMISH, Wash. — An ex-Great Northern SD9 locomotive enthusiasts had hoped might be displayed in the historic railroad town of Skykomish instead may be destined for scrap.
The locomotive’s fate is wrapped in a controversy over whether it was ever actually donated to or accepted by the town, a small community in the Cascade foothills about 50 miles east of Everett; who would pay to move the locomotive, and where it would be displayed.
SD9 No. 599, built by EMD in May 1958, was one of two GN SD9s equipped with dynamic brakes, according to one history. It operated for Burlington Northern and the BNSF Railway before being designated for donation to Skykomish for static display.
The locomotive has been parked on BNSF property for years. Its future became an immediate concern when the Great Northern & Cascade, a non-profit volunteer-run organization, posted on its Facebook page a notice that “[BNSF is] going to cut up the SD9 where it is. They are sumping the oil out of the crankcase now in preparation for the scrappers.”
BNSF confirmed it was done waiting for the locomotive’s future to be resolved. “This locomotive has been out of service for over one decade,” BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas wrote in an email. “It sits on BNSF property and is attracting trespassers and vandalism. It isn’t movable, fluids have been drained, and it will soon be scrapped.” No date for that action has been set.
Skykomish Mayor Henry Sladek issued a lengthy statement to rebut reports the town had accepted and then turned down donation of the locomotive.
“The last and only action the town has ever taken (a couple of years ago) with respect to the engine is that it took the position that it should not be re-located to somewhere close to, or in front of (blocking view) of the restored depot,” wrote Sladek, who has been in the part-time mayor’s post for about six months and was on the town’s council for 10 years before that. “The Town Council’s position was that we would find (and need to fund the move to) a suitable location within the park whenever the time came.”
The depot Sladek referred to is the former Great Northern depot, which was relocated to a park south of the BNSF mainline and a yard where the locomotive currently resides. The depot, now a visitors’ center, shares the park with a miniature live-steam train ride operated by the Great Northern & Cascade Railway.
Sladek said there’s been no communication between BNSF and the town about the locomotive since then. “The assumption was that we would deal with this when it was necessary, which didn’t seem to be immediate, given that [BNSF] had allowed the engine to sit in place for some six years already.”
The mayor said there is still a chance to save the locomotive, “but time is now of the essence. That is what we’ll be attempting.”
That won’t be inexpensive. Sladek said those interested in saving the SD9 need to find a suitable place for its permanent display, as well as the $40,000 to $50,000 to move it.
Sladek said he has “always been in favor of saving this engine, but I am not (nor is anyone else) the sole voice of this town.” In addition to being mayor, he owns and runs the Cascadia Inn, a 14-room hotel and café operating in a 1922-vintage building. Sladek’s inn sponsors a webcam giving fans a 24-hour view of the BNSF line that runs from Everett through Stevens Pass.
Sad/// Reminds me of DIck Jensen’s steam collection getting scrapped in a Chicago roundhouse dispute…
ANDREW – Long ago in a far-away galaxy I wrote to ATSF president the late Joh Shedd Reed asking about historic preservation. I got a letter back saying he felt the same way I did.
What I meant was that there has never been a reply from the current people at BNSF about preservation of retired locos and cars.
Contact Warren Buffett and Bill Gates to get them to help move and preserve the SD9.
That explains why nobody at BNSF never answers questions about preservation of retired locos and cars.
Looks like everyone dropped the ball while waiting for someone else to do the work. Looks bad on the community.
I agree with you Steven Berg. In 10 years, how many opportunities is that for Skokomish that were missed? Although it’s unfortunate that BNSF isn’t too interested in preserving an older locomotive, like the 599, they can only wait so long for the local government/preservationists to get their end of the deal going before saying enough.
Should have been resolved ;many years ago….sounds like some folks on the town council in Skykomish are not railroad minded people…Why should BNSF be labeled the bad guy here…10 years for Skykomish to “poop or get off the pot” on this issue is way long enough. RIP SD9 #599.
Everyone didn’t drop the ball, Railfans did. If railfans want to save these aging locomotives around the country they have to be more proactive. The average citizen doesn’t really care that much.
As a retired Class 1, many people have dropped the ball. A new generation of Skykomish residents don’t realize the importance of the GN (and an electric engine change point) the their town. Planning for a retirement of a locomotive must be planned well in advance. I came of the NP in the 1970 merger.