Kalispell puts brakes on historic train vandalism
Kalispell Parks and Recreation Department has added signs to the historic locomotive on the Parkline Trail as part of their effort to deter would-be vandals. (Adrian Knowler/Daily Inter Lake)
The Kalispell Parks and Recreation Department is taking several steps to prevent vandalism to a historic locomotive located on the new Parkline Trail above Woodland Park.
In the two years since the decommissioned locomotive was donated by the Mission Mountain Railroad it has become a magnet for graffiti, and the windows have been smashed by thrown rocks. In addition to replacing the windows, the city has installed two trespassing warning signs and a security camera system. Parks and Recreation workers also touched up the paint job to cover the graffiti on multiple portions of the train.
City officials are hopeful that these measures will be effective in stopping people from throwing rocks at the train and climbing inside the car.
The new camera system, which has so far cost the city about $14,000, will provide live and recorded footage of the site to the parks and police departments in an effort to hold vandals responsible for damage, according to Parks and Recreation Director Chad Fincher.
Development Services Director Jarod Nygren believes that as the area around the trail continues to develop, increased pedestrian and bike traffic will also further deter vandals.
“As more housing is built and more people live [along the trail…it will be harder for vandals because there will be more eyes on the train,” said Nygren. “As the trail is used more, [vandalism] will be less of a concern.”
The steps are intended to help the public enjoy the train as a historical and educational point-of-interest along the trail, which the city hopes will be a key part of revitalizing the city’s core area.
“Kalispell wouldn’t have existed without the rail spur, so the train is an homage to the history of the area,” said Nygren.
As part of the trail development project, the locomotive was stripped of electrical and diesel components and restored and repainted in the “Big Sky” blue, black and white paint job of the old Empire Builder passenger line that was previously operated by the now-defunct Great Northern Railroad when the locomotives were manufactured in the 1960s.
According to Nygren, the city would eventually like to update the paint to a green color that more accurately represents the paint job of freight trains that used to travel through the Kalispell corridor where the trail is now located.
Future plans for the train car also include installing programmable accent lighting to create a festive “focal point” on the trail, said Fincher.
Reporter Adrian Knowler can be reached at aknowler@dailyinterlake.com.