Restoration of DuPont’s Narrow-Gauge Boxcar

Submitted by DuPont Historical Society.

The DuPont Company operated in DuPont, WA from 1909 to 1975. Seventeen miles of narrow-gauge rail transported incoming supplies and outgoing products between the plant and a wharf on Puget Sound. The DuPont, WA plant supplied explosives for projects such as Grand Coulee Dam, Panama Canal, and Alaska Highway and met military needs in WWI and WWII.

Since 2008, the remaining train has been displayed behind the DuPont Historical Museum—a unique piece of 20th-century industrial history. We believe the DuPont narrow-gauge “Dynamite Train” is the only intact example in Washington state.

Our 12-ton Plymouth diesel locomotive dates to 1941-42 and the flat cars and boxcar may be earlier. Following the closure of the DuPont plant in 1977, the train engines and cars were sold to the Weyerhaeuser Company with other DuPont Company property. Over the decades since, volunteers and donors have devoted great effort to reclaiming and preserving the Dynamite Train: securing its donation back to DuPont, moving the train home from storage on JBLM, raising funds to build a protective canopy, and meticulously restoring the wooden flat cars and the diesel engine.

Now in 2024 DuPont Historical Society is fundraising to renovate the single remaining boxcar with the professional expertise of Historic Railway Restoration, Inc. of Arlington, WA. To date, financial support from the City of DuPont, National Railway Historical Society, Nisqually Indian Tribe Charitable Fund, Olympia Model Railroad Clinic Members, Over the Hill Gang, Puyallup Tribe Charity Trust, Squaxin Island Tribe, and many, many generous individuals has brought us nearly to 70% of our $52,000 goal.

Community members who wish to contribute can:

• donate online at www.dupontmuseum.com, call us at (253) 820-3656, or send a check to DuPont Historical Society at 207 Barksdale Ave, DuPont WA 98327 with the memo “train”
• visit the train at DuPont Historical Museum (admission is free) and write a review on Facebook, Yelp, or Google
• contact duponthistoricalmuseum@gmail.com about volunteer opportunities or sponsorship

DuPont Historical Museum tells the story of DuPont’s unique role in the development of Washington State and the Puget Sound region. The DuPont Historical Society’s mission is to preserve, interpret, and promote the historical heritage of the City of DuPont and surrounding areas for present and future generations.