Local Fundraiser Aims To Complete Engine No. 25’s Restoration

When you drive by the Butte Civic Center you simply cannot miss the work being done on the historic Engine No. 25.  The locomotive, donated to the children of Butte back in 1958, has sat with little fanfare in its spot on Harrison Avenue, exposed to the elements and whatever else could find its way through the chain link fence that once stood.

Al Hess is behind the group whose goal is to restore the historic locomotive and to build a proper housing/display area.  Al's father was an engineer who knocked the last fire out of the engine before his retirement in 1954.  This project is very personal to the Hess family and the group's work is taking noticeable shape thanks to some generous local donors.

"The roof structure is up, we're ready for the sheeting to go on and then the final phase will be the restoration of the engine itself," Hess told us.  But while the work is noticeable, there is still a long way to the finish line and he said community help is vital. "We still need to come up with the money to do the paint restoration on the engine itself and that paint runs about $100 per gallon, so it's expensive.  We still have to do the lighting and we're going to do some renovations to the little park that's right next to it as well.  We've got some work to do so we still need some community help.  We're hoping by the end of the year we'll have this project completed."

Community members can help by purchasing a raffle ticket with the drawing taking place at a big community fundraiser at the Civic Center on August 15th.