BUTTE — A historic steam engine outside the Butte Civic Center has gotten its bell back after 68 years — and for one local man, the moment is deeply personal.
Engine 25 has sat outside the Butte Civic Center for decades, slowly falling apart. The engine's bell was stolen in 1958, shortly after the engine was placed at the site.
WATCH: A bell stolen 68 years ago has been returned to Engine 25 outside the Butte Civic Center — and it fulfills a dream decades in the making
"This engine, Engine 25, has not had a bell on it for 68 years. It was stolen in 1958, right after they put the engine down here," Al Hess said.
Hess is the coordinator of the Engine 25 Restoration Group. His father, a Northern Pacific engineer in the 1950s, had a personal connection to the engine.
"In 1954, he was assigned to knock the last fire out of this engine before it was retired to make room for the diesel locomotives," Hess said.
Hess' father later purchased a replacement bell, but it sat in a garage for more than 30 years.
"My father bought a bell to replace this 30-some years ago," Hess said.
Now that the restoration group has raised $142,000, the bell is finally back where it belongs. The funds are supporting the first phase of the project, which includes a new foundation, sidewalks, a steel structure, and fencing to protect both the bell and the steam engine.
"It was his dream to put the bell back on this and get a cover for it and help restore this engine," Hess said.
Engine 25 was one of 13 steam engines specially made for Montana to push freight and rail engines over high passes. Crews from several local companies worked on the first phase of the project. Workers from Hawe Steel and Design secured the bell and finished the roof.
"It kinda feels like you're part of history a little bit, just being able to have a little part in it," Shane Marble of Hawe Steel and Design said.
The Engine 25 Restoration Group is now collecting donations for the final phase of the project to restore the engine itself.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
