05/06/2026
For the first edition of , a series we are starting to talk about the history of the depot, the artifacts on display and the people who worked in them, we are going to discuss the steam locomotive bell that is on display.
The story of our steam locomotive bell dates back to 1907 when this bell was originally mounted on a Baldwin 0-6-0 yard switcher number NP 1084, that was assigned to Midwest yard service.
In 1931, the locomotive was scrapped owing to age, Depression and larger locomotives being available. All parts of the locomotive was scrapped except the bell. It was stored until 1937 when ALCO's new Z-6 Class, 4-6-6-4 steam locomotive steel bells, were deemed less than favorable by the crews, and not well liked. Northern Pacific management decided to use older Brass bells from older scrapped steam locomotives in their place... This is how the bell from an old scrapped 0-6-0 steam switcher came to adorn the front of a huge massive modern articulated 4-6-6-4 steam locomotive. It stayed on the locomotive until 1955 when it was involved in a head on collision at E. Cheney.
On August 15, 1955, at the E. Cheney switch,Northern Pacific RY Z6 locomotive #5119's crew had thrown the siding switch to the main, not knowing a Northern Pacific Passenger train had just entered the area, resulting in the diesel powered Northern Pacific passenger Train #5 running into the front of Steam locomotive #5119. The crash resulted in the death of the engineer in the cab of the diesel powered Train passenger train #5. One of the passengers on train #5 was also killed in the accident and also injured 26 other passengers.
The violent impact of the head on collision was such that the locomotive bell was thrown clean off the steam engine and lay in the field before being discovered and taken off the crash site by Shirley Bloom's father who was the NPRR Section Foreman for the railroad in Cheney. The bell hung on a stand in the front of the house for years and was rang every evening when mom called the kids in for dinner. As time rolled along, the bell ended up at Daughter Shirley's residence south of Cheney,. It sat on the ground next to a Spruce tree as yard art...
In March of 2026, the bell was donated by Shirley Bloom to the Cheney Depot Society and was wonderfully restored by our friends from Gordon Truck Center in North Cheney. They even fabricated a new stand for display. At the April 25 Depot Dedication, Shirley and her sister Betty got a chance to ring the bell again. For the first time in 55 years, the people of Cheney heard the beautiful sound of Northern Pacific 5119's bell as the two sisters joyfully rang in the new era of the Depot's life and called all of Cheney to help celebrate our opening with a wonderful meal
Wreck Photo's by Alfred Butler Sr., Bell photo's by Sean Rotinski.
