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Memorial for rail historian James Fredrickson set for Friday

Tacoma Union Station was the headquarters of the Northern Pacific’s Tacoma Division where James Fredrickson worked as night chief dispatcher in 1967, when this photo was taken.
Tacoma Union Station was the headquarters of the Northern Pacific’s Tacoma Division where James Fredrickson worked as night chief dispatcher in 1967, when this photo was taken. James Fredrickson NPRHA Collection at PNRA

A memorial for Northern Pacific Railway historian and lifelong Tacoman James Fredrickson will be at 3 p.m. Friday in the U.S. District Courthouse — the former Union Station he helped save in the 1980s.

Fredrickson died April 15 at 89.

He collected countless Northern Pacific items — and took untold amounts of photographs of trains — and displayed them at his house in Tacoma.

The author and historian, a retired Northern Pacific telegrapher and dispatcher, was a part of the Save Our Station movement.

One of the group’s leaders, Linda Bowman, was to be among those speaking at the event at the courthouse, 1717 Pacific Ave., but she is ill and cannot attend.

She submitted a letter to be read at the event.

Kenny Ocker: 253-597-8627, @KennyOcker

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 4:52 PM with the headline "Memorial for rail historian James Fredrickson set for Friday."

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