BY PEPPER FISHER
Port Angeles – Progress is being made in the restoration of the vintage Rayonier locomotive on display in Port Angeles, known simply as “The 4”.
The 4, for those of you not familiar with it, is Rayonier Locomotive #4, one of only six remaining Willamette-style locomotives, which for years has been displayed on the corner of Chase Street and Lauridsen Boulevard, and is now almost 100 years old.
The effort to restore the 4 to its original glory includes a plan to add two additional log cars, a caboose, construct a roof over the entire display and make additional improvements to the surrounding park.
The project is being done in phases. Phase 1, completed last year by the City of Port Angeles, was to remove the asbestos from the boiler. Phase 2 has been divided into 2 parts: restoring the locomotive, and building a protective canopy to cover it.
David Brownell, Executive Director of the North Olympic History Center, says Phase 2 is about to take a big step forward this summer.
“The plans for the canopy went to the City Department of Community and Economic Development to review for permits. We’re still working on getting a bid for the restoration of the locomotive, but we expect that work on the actual canopy structure will actually begin in July. So, in the next month, people should see things moving out there.”
Brownell says they’re still about $50,000 short in their fundraising to pay for the completion of the roof structure and the restoration of the engine. But if all goes well, he’s confident Phase 2 can be completed by the end of the year.
That will ring in the beginning of Phase 3, which is significant improvements on the surrounding park, and the addition of more train cars and a caboose.
Brownell says getting this project completed is about more than restoring a train engine.
“And so, hopefully, finding a way, when we get to that point of planning, you know, Phase 3, the park, and some permanent interpretive signage out there, it’s not just going to be the history of this machine, it’s going to be the history of the people who were on it, and operating it, and the lives that they lived. So, there’s a human element to it, for sure.”
More information can be found at restorethe4.org. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact FixThe4@yahoo.com