To help Mid-Continent restore the DULUTH to its former glory, please consider making a donation to the DSS&A Sleeper DULUTH Fund. Donating is tax-deductible and easy to do. You can make your donation via mail or donate online using the donate button below.
If you choose to donate by mail, please be sure to write in “DSS&A Sleeper DULUTH Fund” on the printable donation form or check memo line. Credit/debit card donations can also be accepted via phone at 608-522-4261 or 800-930-1385 by speaking to our staff during administrative office hours Monday-Friday.
Group photo of some of the volunteers from the “ALL HANDS ON DECK” session, 2023.
Summer is a busy time at Mid-Continent, as well as in the Restoration Department. Throughout the month of June, volunteers will have several opportunities to take part in helping Mid-Continent to preserve and restore equipment in the Car Shop.
Following is a summary of the dates volunteer work sessions will be taking place in the Car Shop:
June 1st and 2nd: This session has been added as a result of the MCRM Summer Shindig being held (starts 4 pm on Saturday). Volunteers are needed to assist with the restoration work on the LS&I #64 coach, the DULUTH sleeping car and the EJ&S #2 combine.
June 8th, 9th and 10th: This session is one of our pre-scheduled volunteer work sessions. Pete B. will need volunteers to assist him with the EJ&S #2 project (on June 9th and 10th) and other work will also be taking place in the Car Shop during the three-day session.
June 26th to the 30th: This is a specially planned session to deliver a lot of results in a short period of time. To date (20) volunteers have signed up to help out during this session known as “ALL HANDS ON DECK”. We are still looking for more volunteers for this session so we can make significant progress that would otherwise take several months to accomplish. The primary projects for this session are the LS&I #64 (fill, sand and priming), the DULUTH (install siding and ceiling work), the EJ&S #2 (interior restoration) and the Rock Island #1094 (interior painting). After a day of work, we’ll be providing meals and have planned after hour activities, including a pizza train ride at MCRM and a train ride/tour at the Riverside & Great Northern RR.
Any and all volunteers are welcome to participate in any or all of these sessions. If you’d like to volunteer for the All Hands on Deck session you must sign up in advance by contacting the MCRM Office at 608-522-4261 or via email at inquiries@midcontinent.org. You can help out on one or multiple days during the session, but please RSVP so we can appropriately plan the work and the meals.
Come join us and give us a hand! With everyone pulling together we’ll make some great progress in the Restoration Department.
A recent view of the DULUTH sleeper car showing the car after the lower siding was removed.
Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s Duluth South Shore & Atlantic sleeping car “DULUTH” is the oldest and most complete standard gauge sleeping car in the country. This wooden sleeping car was built in 1902 and for over thirty years it provided overnight sleeping accommodations for passengers riding the rails across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The DULUTH only survived as it was repurposed into a camp along the shores of Lake Superior prior to being acquired and moved by Mid-Continent in 2016. Today, after several years of restoration work and thanks to many volunteers and donors the DULUTH sleeping car is coming back together.
The DULUTH is a rare time capsule demonstrating what long-distance rail travel was like over a century ago. The DULUTH sleeping car includes a private stateroom, the men’s smoking room, women’s toilet and a 10-section sleeping compartment, that featured upper and lower berths. Once restored visitors will be able to see and experience the DULUTH sleeper and take in the fine mahogany woodwork, marquetry, stained glass and plush upholstery.
Recent restoration progress in the sleeping compartment of the DULUTH.
To help with the restoring this national treasure Mid-Continent is challenging its members, donors and supporters to raise $10,000 to go towards the ongoing restoration work on the DULUTH sleeping car. With this challenge, every dollar donated to this fund drive will be matched dollar-for-dollar, by an anonymous donor, up to $10,000. Together this will raise $20,000 for the DULUTH restoration fund.
Funds from this fund drive will be used for several key areas of the car’s restoration, including:
Repairing and restoring the water damaged ceiling panels.
Installing and painting the ceiling canvas.
Replicating the (4) interior doors that are presently missing inside the car.
Sourcing wood for making and installing new exterior car siding and trim.
Your donation to the DULUTH 2024 Matching Fund Drive the will help complete the above projects and restore the DULUTH sleeping car.
Make Your Donation Today
Making your donation to the DULUTH project and getting it matched is easy and takes only a few minutes.
Donate by Check
Donations by check can be made out to Mid-Continent Railway Museum and mailed to:
Mid-Continent Railway Museum
P.O. Box 358
North Freedom, WI 53951
Be sure to write “DULUTH 2024 Matching Fund Drive” on the check memo line so we can properly process your donation.
Donate by Phone
To donate by phone, please call Mid-Continent’s office at 608-522-4261.
Donate by Credit Card or PayPal
You can donate instantly using any major credit or debit card or by PayPal via the button below.
Thanks to our amazing donors, the matching fund goal has been met! However, this project is not finished, and continued donations are appreciated and needed to bring the overall DULUTH restoration project to completion. Use the “Donate Here” button above to make a donation today.
The matching grant fundraiser began on 5/1/2024 and was fully matched by donors on 7/30/2024.
Individual Donations ($10,000) & Matching Grant ($10,000)
Work in progress with a crew of volunteers in the sleeping compartment of the DULUTH.
The MCRM Restoration Department recently completed a three-day volunteer work session that was held on April 10th-12th. We had a good size crew given that it was held during the week. The volunteers that helped out for this session were Jack, Jerry F, Jerry M., Dean, Karl, Bob R., Richard P., Pete, Larry S., Owen, Tom B., Steve and Bill B. Thanks to this crew we got a lot of work performed and completed.
Following is a brief summary of the progress made during the session:
LS&I #64:
Work continued on cutting and fitting new wood for the exterior of the car. Karl trimmed up the new center window stops and installed them on the car. Bob R. primed all of the new battens for the windows. Jack and Jerry were working on cutting, fitting and installing new windowsills. Two windowsills remain to be cut and fit. They also installed one set of the new battens for the arched windows and sash. During the next session, work will continue on the windowsills and installing more of the window battens.
Bob priming the new battens.Karl installing the center window stops.Jack sanding the battens.Jerry F. fitting one of the curved battens.
One window with all of the trim installed.
C&IM #90:
Jerry and Dean continued to install trim pieces and mahogany plywood in the north stateroom. The woodwork in the clerestory area is complete as well as the north and south walls in the north stateroom. Once additional mahogany plywood is purchased the east and west wall will be worked on. In the south stateroom, Steve roughed in the new wiring for the lighting and outlets for the room.
Jerry M and Dean installing trim pieces in the C&IM 90 south state room.
EJ&S #2:
Work continued in the passenger section of the car. Larry S. sanded the recently varnished woodwork while Owen worked on painting pieces of the clerestory trim (two colors). Owen and Bob teamed up to apply two coats of varnish on pieces of walnut trim during the session. Pete and Larry worked on cutting and planning pieces of poplar that will be used for making the seat back frames for the car. Plans call for moving the EJ&S #2 to the north end of the car shop so the car can be accessed easier for painting the exterior of the car. This move is scheduled to take place on April 20th.
Owen painting the trim pieces.Bob varnishing the walnut trim pieces.
DULUTH:
Karl and Bill B worked in the DULUTH smoking room. They cut new headliner panels for the east and west sides as the old pieces were water damaged. Karl also started to remove the remnants of the partition that was embedded in the west wall where the swinging door was mounted.
Karl working in the DULUTH smoking room.
C&NW #1099:
Richard continued working on restoring and rebuilding the underframe of the narrow gauge combine. His work this year includes installing two new side sills, two new end body beams, two new body bolsters, one new intermediate sill and an all-new subfloor. During the session Richard and Larry S. worked on squaring up the frame in preparation to securing the flooring and side walls to the frame.
The latest progress on the #1099.
MISCELLANEOUS:
Bob installed the new springs on the National vestibule traps on the north end of the Badger #2 Fish car. The springs are part of a system that help lift the traps up, when opening, as well as prevents the traps from free falling when closing.
Larry T. is continuing to strip the old finish off the woodwork inside the GN A-22 “Hill” car. Larry is presently working in the state room and has also been working in the garage end of the car. He has been making good progress and he has been uncovering some beautiful mahogany along the way.
Newly installed spring on the Fish car trap.
Work progressing inside the garage end of the A-22 “Hill” car.
Upcoming work sessions include one on April 26, 27 and May 3, 4 and 5. The May 3-5 session is in conjunction with the “Spring Fling” event on May 4th. We’d really like to have a good turnout for the Spring Fling weekend as we have a number of projects that we need help with. You can register for the Spring Fling here: https://form.jotform.com/240655916920157
If you would like to help out in our restoration department, please reach out to the Mid-Continent office at 608-522-4261 or email inquiries@midcontinent.org.
To help Mid-Continent restore the DULUTH to its former glory, please consider making a donation to the DSS&A Sleeper DULUTH Fund. Donating is tax-deductible and easy to do. You can make your donation via mail or donate online using the Donate button.
Be sure to write in “DSS&A Sleeper DULUTH Fund” on the printable donation form or check memo line if sending a donation by mail. Credit/debit card donations can also be accepted via phone at 608-522-4261 or 800-930-1385 by speaking to our staff during administrative office hours Monday-Friday.
