Donate SP SD9E #4404 to a museum (for a second time) and put it out of its "misery"
The issue
On February 6, 2013, Southern Pacific SD9E #4404 was declared surplus to the collection of Western Pacific Railroad Museum (WPRM) alongside SP SD9E #4450 and Milwaukee Road U25B #5057. In 2014, Western Rail, Inc. (WRIX) purchased SD9E #4404 from the museum, where they would supposedly restore it for revenue service, sale and lease.
On January 11, 2017, WRIX had made a change to (or should this petition say "ruined") the SD9E by chopping its nose down to a short-low hood. And after that was done, it was sent to the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad (POVA) in Usk, Washington, and thrown into storage in that line, where it never turned a wheel ever since. So basically, they just ruined the unit for nothing and wasted the supposed "restoration for revenue service" work. All they did, was cut its nose, and dump it in storage, leaving it to rot away until it is a subject to be scrapped.
Western Rail, Inc. has not made anymore statements about SD9E #4404 at all, and even when emailing them, they refuse to answer the emails. For some SP fans, it just looks wrong seeing an SP SD9E in SP colors like #4404 have a short-low hood. Also what's the point of taking the SD9E out of the preservation pool and bringing it back to service when the use of SD9s in service in the US is getting smaller and smaller as time passes? It was just pointless.
This petition is a call to action by having Western Rail, Inc. do the following as a redemption arc step by step:
- Pull the SD9E out of storage on the POVA.
- Move 4404 back to a storage facility.
- Restore it back to its high hood state, cosmetically AND MECHANICALLY.
- Restore it back to its full SP "red and gray" colors.
- Send it back into the preservation pool by calling a museum or scenic railroad if they want it.
- If no one wants it, keep the SD9E operable as it was in its "pre-chopped hood state" until a museum or scenic railroad has interest of getting the unit.
- And then on (a) Friday, they can pick up their paycheck.
And if they could do that, if they could do that, they'll be praised more, gain more notoriety and gain more views. So what are you waiting for? Let's get this done and over with, once that happens, we will declare victory.
Links to WRIX's posts of SP 4404, (and how they ruined it cosmetically):
- https://www.facebook.com/WesternRailInc/posts/whats-going-on-at-the-shop-today-chopping-the-nose-on-wrix-4404exsp-4404-convert/1199970193392089/
- https://www.facebook.com/WesternRailInc/posts/former-southern-pacific-sd9-4404-is-finished-up-in-the-paint-booth-and-ready-for/1271895186199589/
- https://www.facebook.com/WesternRailInc/posts/1219756841413424
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The issue
On February 6, 2013, Southern Pacific SD9E #4404 was declared surplus to the collection of Western Pacific Railroad Museum (WPRM) alongside SP SD9E #4450 and Milwaukee Road U25B #5057. In 2014, Western Rail, Inc. (WRIX) purchased SD9E #4404 from the museum, where they would supposedly restore it for revenue service, sale and lease.
On January 11, 2017, WRIX had made a change to (or should this petition say "ruined") the SD9E by chopping its nose down to a short-low hood. And after that was done, it was sent to the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad (POVA) in Usk, Washington, and thrown into storage in that line, where it never turned a wheel ever since. So basically, they just ruined the unit for nothing and wasted the supposed "restoration for revenue service" work. All they did, was cut its nose, and dump it in storage, leaving it to rot away until it is a subject to be scrapped.
Western Rail, Inc. has not made anymore statements about SD9E #4404 at all, and even when emailing them, they refuse to answer the emails. For some SP fans, it just looks wrong seeing an SP SD9E in SP colors like #4404 have a short-low hood. Also what's the point of taking the SD9E out of the preservation pool and bringing it back to service when the use of SD9s in service in the US is getting smaller and smaller as time passes? It was just pointless.
This petition is a call to action by having Western Rail, Inc. do the following as a redemption arc step by step:
- Pull the SD9E out of storage on the POVA.
- Move 4404 back to a storage facility.
- Restore it back to its high hood state, cosmetically AND MECHANICALLY.
- Restore it back to its full SP "red and gray" colors.
- Send it back into the preservation pool by calling a museum or scenic railroad if they want it.
- If no one wants it, keep the SD9E operable as it was in its "pre-chopped hood state" until a museum or scenic railroad has interest of getting the unit.
- And then on (a) Friday, they can pick up their paycheck.
And if they could do that, if they could do that, they'll be praised more, gain more notoriety and gain more views. So what are you waiting for? Let's get this done and over with, once that happens, we will declare victory.
Links to WRIX's posts of SP 4404, (and how they ruined it cosmetically):
- https://www.facebook.com/WesternRailInc/posts/whats-going-on-at-the-shop-today-chopping-the-nose-on-wrix-4404exsp-4404-convert/1199970193392089/
- https://www.facebook.com/WesternRailInc/posts/former-southern-pacific-sd9-4404-is-finished-up-in-the-paint-booth-and-ready-for/1271895186199589/
- https://www.facebook.com/WesternRailInc/posts/1219756841413424
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 20 August 2026