Then and Now: Union Pacific Engine 3206

Through the 1950s,cs the railroads were in a technology transition. Steam engines, powered by coal, were being retired, though some had been converted to use fuel oil.

Section:Gallery

Mon., Aug. 10, 2020

1955: Union Pacific district foreman L. W. Shirley, the man who had supervised the repair of Engine 3206 when it was wrecked in 1933, signals by the turntable where the 1904 ALCO engine will wait until it is moved to High Bridge Park, where it will be put on display. The veteran steam locomotive was donated to the city of Spokane after being retired from service after pulling passenger trains in and out of town for 50 years.

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Present day: Union Pacific Engine 3206, a 1904 steam engine, now resides at the Inland Northwest Rail Museum near Reardan, Washington. It pulled trains around the Spokane region for 50 years and was donated to the city of Spokane in 1955. After more than 20 years on display at High Bridge Park and more than 30 years on display at the Spokane Fair and Expo Center, the locomotive was brought to the museum in 2013. The old steam engine sits near the steel turntable mechanism which it sat on in the 1955 photo.

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