Like many of you, one of the first publications I learned to read at a youthful age was the Steam Passenger Service Directory. After awhile I had all the steam operations and their respective locomotives memorized--hans down, I could guess the old, rare and obscure in a matter of seconds!! Useless information to share, unless of course your friends happened to be foamers. At any rate, one of the engines that caught my fancy (in the 1970s)was the Northern Pacific Alco 1907 0-6-0 No. 1070 which ran on the Lake Whatcom Railway in Wickersham, WA. Can anyone tell me if this locomotive is still operable and what its current status is these days?? Many thanks!

K.R. Bell

> Like many of you, one of the first
> publications I learned to read at a youthful
> age was the Steam Passenger Service
> Directory. After awhile I had all the steam
> operations and their respective locomotives
> memorized--hans down, I could guess the old,
> rare and obscure in a matter of seconds!!
> Useless information to share, unless of
> course your friends happened to be foamers.
> At any rate, one of the engines that caught
> my fancy (in the 1970s)was the Northern
> Pacific Alco 1907 0-6-0 No. 1070 which ran
> on the Lake Whatcom Railway in Wickersham,
> WA. Can anyone tell me if this locomotive is
> still operable and what its current status
> is these days?? Many thanks!

> K.R. Bell
Sorry not to answer your specific question, but to ask another. My Steam Passenger Directory ,1994 ed. gives as builder Manchester Alco. In 1901 Alco bought a number of small regional manufacturers including the Manchester Locomotive Works in Manchester, New Hampshire. Manchester produced locomotives for Alco between 1901 and 1913 and was an important supplier for the B&M. Still extant are 494(pre-Alco), 410 and 1455. Other norteastern railroads were among Manchester's customers. Here's the question. How and why did the NP acquire this engine? It would seem more logical to use a closer, larger supplier for such a major carrier.

wrj494@aol.com

The NP #1070 is still at Lake Whatcom but has been out of service for sometime due to extensive boiler work. The last I heard motive power was a leased Alco S-1.

The #1070 was part of a order of Class L-9 0-6-0's the Northern Pacific ordered from Alco.

Richard Wilkens

> Sorry not to answer your specific question,
> but to ask another. My Steam Passenger
> Directory ,1994 ed. gives as builder
> Manchester Alco. In 1901 Alco bought a
> number of small regional manufacturers
> including the Manchester Locomotive Works in
> Manchester, New Hampshire. Manchester
> produced locomotives for Alco between 1901
> and 1913 and was an important supplier for
> the B&M. Still extant are 494(pre-Alco),
> 410 and 1455. Other norteastern railroads
> were among Manchester's customers. Here's
> the question. How and why did the NP acquire
> this engine? It would seem more logical to
> use a closer, larger supplier for such a
> major carrier.