Painted rail cars keep Hillyard on track to realize heritage park

The caboose has a new coat of paint, the latest evidence that a Hillyard Heritage Museum and Hobo Park are becoming a reality after years of work and planning.

The Great Northern Railway Historical Society, which convened in Spokane earlier this year, donated $2,500 to the museum’s nonprofit organization to pay for new paint on the caboose and other old rail cars now lined up at Hobo Park.

The plan calls for adding the historic GN goat emblem to the sides of the caboose on Queen Avenue just east of Market Street.

It’s part of the ongoing effort to build a heritage park in a neighborhood rich with rail history.

The dream dates back to the 1960s, neighborhood leaders said.

The museum is planned for the caboose and three other rail cars that make up the rolling stock in the collection of the Hillyard Heritage Museum Society.

“It has been a longtime dream and a longtime effort,” said Marj Brewer, who along with her husband, Mike, have been instrumental in reaching the dream.

The park, which is a piece of open space at Market and Queen, has become a popular spot for community events as well as daily use. People often climb onto the rear platform of the caboose to take photos.

Neighborhood leaders and business owners are hoping to turn Hillyard into a place where people want to visit and shop.

New bars, thrift stores and other businesses are giving life to Hillyard, said David Griswold, a neighborhood organizer.

State funding to complete the North Spokane Corridor from Francis Avenue south to Interstate 90 has the potential of bringing even more business.

“Hillyard is about to become the entry point for Spokane” on the North Side, Brewer said.

The settlement history of Hillyard dates back to 1892 when James J. Hill built his Great Northern Railway yard there and the town of Hillyard grew up around it.

The park consists of three parcels of land purchased by the Brewers and held for eventual acquisition by the heritage museum society.

Spokane City Councilman Mike Fagan said the neighborhood is trying to obtain grants to purchase the park property.

An annual hobo dinner has been hosted since 2009 to raise money to pay for taxes and insurance.

Other events that make use of the park include a farmers market, a harvest festival in early October, a car show in conjunction with Jim Hill Days in August and the Hippie Happening every year on the weekend after Labor Day.

The caboose was originally built as a box car in 1937. Because of its size, it was converted to a caboose to handle a larger train crew.

Two bunks inside the caboose have been restored.

The other rolling stock is made up of a Union Pacific Railroad maintenance car, a 1941 Union Pacific passenger sleeper car and a Great Northern box car.

They were originally moved to Hillyard in 2002 and placed on a section of siding track built by Hillyard volunteers.

The cars were moved to their new location at the park in 2015.

Plans call for restoring the cars so they can house museum displays.

In another effort, the Hillyard Community Futures organization is trying to raise $4,500 for a “Train Town” mural on the alley side of a brick building just north of the intersection of Market Street and Olympic Avenue.

The web fundraiser can be found on razoo.com.