Locomotive #2164

Locomotive #2164. Camp Hancock State Historic Site. This coal-fired steam locomotive was built by the Baldwin Locomotive works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the Northern Pacific Railway in 1909. Numbered 2164 by the Northern Pacific, the locomotive and coal tender weigh 298,600 pounds, are 78 feet long, 16 feet tall at the highest point and 10 feet wide.

Locomotive #2164 was originally used to power the North Coast Limited, the Northern Pacific's premier transcontinental passenger train that ran from Chicago to Seattle. It was used in the operation of branch-line passenger and mixed train service in North Dakota.

Northern Pacific Locomotive #2164 was last used in service on June 4, 1955, on the Jamestown to Pingree run. After its last run it was taken to the Jamestown roundhouse to be drained, cleaned, and completely refurbished, with the intent that it would be displayed at the new Camp Hancock State Historic Site in Bismarck. When retired from service in 1955 the locomotive had operated approximately 1,400,000 miles.

In October of 1955 the locomotive was pulled to Bismarck from Jamestown in the Northern Pacific regular freight run. The southwest portion of the stone wall surrounding Camp Hancock was removed, and track was laid down to allow #2164 to be pulled into the site with a bulldozer.

Camp Hancock and locomotive #2164 were dedicated as a new state historic site on October 12, 1955. The locomotive was placed at Camp Hancock to commemorate the role of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company in the 1872 creation of Camp Hancock and the founding of the city of Edwinton (renamed Bismarck) in 1873.

The Northern Pacific Railroad Company was formed on July 2, 1864 and was chartered by President Abraham Lincoln as the first northern transcontinental railroad. In 1896 the name was changed to the Northern Pacific Railway. After almost 107 years of service the NP merged with numerous other railway companies in March 1970 to form the Burlington Northern Railway. The North Coast Limited route was taken over in June 1971 by the newly-formed, government-run National Railroad Passenger Corporation, better known as Amtrak. Amtrak continues to this day to offer the North Coast service, but the route is much changed from the original Northern Pacific Railway.

Photo captions: , Locomotive #2164, probably west of Mandan. Date of photo unknown, but likely taken shortly after going into service for the Northern Pacific Railway in 1909. , The dedication ceremony for the Northern Pacific Railroad Locomotive #2164 , Locomotive #2164 being pulled into the Camp Hancock yard with the help of a bulldozer, October 1955. View is to the northeast.