Category Archives: News

Keep up with the latest news and announcements at Mid-Continent Railway Museum.

Rail Relay Phase 2: Preparing for Installation

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Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s trains have traveled the rails at North Freedom for 60 years… rails which are themselves often over 100 years old. Mid-Continent’s railroad track is a critical piece of infrastructure that makes possible our museum’s signature experience – the train rides! Now we are asking for your help to make sure Mid-Continent’s rail line remains safe to operate for another 60 years and beyond.  

MCRY Rail Relay Phase 2 is the next crucial step in addressing old, worn, and fatigued rail along Mid-Continent’s rail line on which its demonstration passenger trains are operated. Phase 2 involves replacing 11,431 track feet (2.16 miles) of rails, joint bars, tie plates, rail anchors, track bolts, and spikes, known as On-Track-Material, or OTM. That is enough rail to replace over half of Mid-Continent’s entire railroad!

Rail Relay Progress Made So Far

Thanks in large part to the generosity of donors who have given so far, Mid-Continent was able to place a winning bid on 502 tons of rail and 138 tons of OTM at a total cost of $203,000. The rail was recently removed from the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad’s Prairie Subdivision as they upgraded that line. This has provided enough rail to allow Mid-Continent to complete all of Phase 2. Although the rail being purchased comes used, it is newer and heavier-duty rail than what exists on Mid-Continent’s current line and will be good for many decades in service for the museum. The purchased rail was transported to the museum in November and early December 2023.

Rail arrayed for sorting
Sticks of newly acquired rail, arrayed for sorting in Mid-Continent’s parking lot. April 2024.
Inspection markings on the newly acquired rail. April 2024.

Next Steps

In April 2024, crews began sorting the rail in preparation for placing (but not yet installing) the rails along Mid-Continent’s line. In summer 2024, Mid-Continent will prepare a bid package, requesting bids from railroad construction contractors for swapping out the old rail with the new rail.

Your Help is Needed for the Rail Relay Phase 2 Project! 

Now that Mid-Continent has acquired the rail, it is time to install it. Although Mid-Continent’s volunteers accomplish a great deal, the scale of the work to be performed can only be achieved with the help of a railroad construction contractor. This means donations are needed to bring the project to completion. Depending on contractor availability, the target is for this to happen during fall/winter 2024.

Your donation to the Rail Relay Phase 2 project directly supports Mid-Continent’s core mission of providing an immersive museum experience of riding aboard historic railcars on an authentic, rural branchline route. Join Mid-Continent today in preserving America’s railroading legacy for tomorrow.

How to Make Your Donation

Mid-Continent Railway Museum is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, educational entity. All donations are tax-deductible. 

You can make your donation in one of several ways: 

  1. Click the Donate Now button to be taken to the project’s PayPal donation page. This method accepts credit and debit cards, as well as PayPal payments. 
Donate Now
  1. Send a check to with “Rail Relay Project” written in the memo line to
    Mid-Continent Railway Museum
    PO Box 358
    North Freedom, WI 53951-0358 
  1. Speak to one of our office staff by phone at 608-522-4261 or 800-930-1385 to make a payment by phone or if you have any questions. 

Tips for Maximizing Your Impact 

Consider asking your employer if they match donations to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. If you’re retired, ask your financial advisor if donating a portion of your retirement account’s required minimum distribution (RMD) is right for you.

Spring Fling Volunteer Work Session: May 4th Starting At 9:00 AM

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Join us for our Spring Fling 2024!

Mid-Continent Railway Museum could not operate without our volunteers, but sometimes showing up to volunteer with an organization for the first time can be intimidating. This is why Mid-Continent has planned a special day of volunteer activities to make getting started easy!

This volunteering day is open to everyone and to all ages. Whether you have volunteered with us in the past or this will be your first time, you are welcome to attend our Spring Fling volunteer day on May 4th as we work to ready the museum to reopen for the 2024 season the following weekend.

Starting at 9:00 AM, we will meet at the museum depot. There will be department heads from the museum’s programs there to explain what their department does and the types of volunteer opportunities available.

Once each department has spoken, you can choose which department(s) you are interested in and join them in a day of volunteering. You’ll have the chance to experience multiple departments over the course of a single day. Come stay for an hour, or two, or for the whole day! Don’t forget to wear your work clothes and bring your work gloves if you have them. Please RSVP by email (inquiries@midcontinent.org) or phone (608-522-4261) as soon as possible so we can get an accurate headcount for lunch. Hope to see you there!

Volunteer Opportunities Currently Available:

Restoration Department:

Join the Restoration Department in working on several projects, including cleaning, de-rusting, and painting portions of a 1906 Rock Island coach/baggage car; painting ceiling panels in a 1902 sleeping car; installing windows and trim on a 1910 coach car; moving stored items; and other assorted tasks.

Buildings & Grounds Department:

Join the Buildings & Grounds Department for a variety of tasks to make the property ready for visitors to keep the museum looking good. Projects include a spring cleaning of the museum’s public buildings: including sweeping, window washing, and painting our picnic pavilion building. Volunteers will also be clearing brush & trees from museum lands to help facilitate future expansion.

Engineering Department:

Engineering Department leaders may have work available sorting the museum’s inventory of tie plates and other on-track material.

Operating Department:

The Operating Department superintendent will briefly introduce the volunteer opportunities available to work as car attendants, trainman, conductor, fireman, and engineer and outline the training involved to attain those positions.

Other Departments may be represented as well as the date gets closer.

Sign Up Here

D&R #9 2024 Fundraiser

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Fletcher and the crew pause for a photo as the crew begins the cosmetic restoration of the D&R #9, 2021.

Happy 2024 to all our followers and generous donors! The D&R #9 crew appreciates all your support. The D&R #9 cosmetic restoration began in the Fall 2020. Much has been accomplished, but there is a lot more to do.

A brief history of the D&R #9 begins back in 1884 when the Baldwin Locomotive Works constructed the locomotive as New Orleans & North Eastern. It received a new boiler in 1904. NO&NE sold the locomotive to a surplus dealer in 1917. The locomotive was purchased by the Dardanelle & Russellville in Arkansas and was renumbered to #9. The Mid-Continent Railway Museum purchased the locomotive in 1963 and served as one of Mid-Continents daily operation locomotives on and off until 1991 when it was removed from service because of boiler issues. The D&R #9 is the oldest locomotive on the property.

The locomotive was stored as inoperable until 2020. During the Fall of 2020, a small group of Mid-Continent volunteers along with MC’s Restoration Department decided to cosmetically restore the locomotive to preserve it until a time when she gets her turn in the shop for an operational restoration. The project is led by 10-year-old (as of 2020) Fletcher Reiman along with his father Jason.

Jason R. (right), a then 9-year-old son Fletcher, along with Fletcher’s grandfather Jerry (left), are taking a lead role in the D&R #9’s cosmetic restoration.

“The D&R #9 cosmetic restoration began in the Fall of 2020. Much has been accomplished, but there is a lot more to do.”

Today, Fletchers Crew is proudly sharing the progress which has been made over the past 3 years on the D&R #9. The D&R #9 Restoration Project initially raised $9,999 through our generous donors to begin the project. But this was primarily used to cosmetically restore the tender. The tender is the “car” that is directly connected to the locomotive to carry fuel and water for its operation. In the case of the D&R #9, the tender carries 5 tons of coal for fuel and 3500 gals of water for the boiler. The tender is now complete minus the “Headlight’ and foot boards on the rear.

Now it is time to focus on the locomotive itself. We are dedicating the 2024 season to the “Year of the Cab”. There is much work to do in the cab. There is some wood rot in the interior of the cab. The roof hatches leak, cab floorboards need to be replaced, seat boxes repaired and re-upholstered, and all fixtures in the cab need to be cleaned and painted. The exterior of the cab will then need to be sandblasted and painted just as the tender was. Additionally, depending on volunteer “man” power, running gear will need to be cleaned and prepped for paint. As always, Fletchers crew welcomes ALL volunteers! If you enjoy learning and having fun, that’s all the skill you need!

For our second fund raiser, we are again setting our goal at $9,999. Through your generous donations we can attain this goal. We appreciate any donation you can make towards the project. Every little bit helps! Without your generosity, the wheels of progress will grind to a stop. Fletcher’s “Crew” is dedicated to bringing the project to completion. We will work hard, and we are committed to spending your donations wisely and frugally. Thank you for your support! We cannot do this without you!

If you would like to donate, please click the button below.

Donate Here

Accomplishments

Over the past three years, Fletcher’s Crew has been busy. The following is a list of major accomplishments to date:

  • The locomotive has been assessed and a working plan was created. Fall 2020
  • A fund raiser was created to raise money for the cosmetic restoration of the tender. Initial fund raising was $9,999 which was fully funded by generous donations in 2021.
  • Various parts were removed from the locomotive, cataloged, and relocated to one of our storage buildings. All parts that were removed were tagged and evaluated for restoration and prioritized. 2021/2022
  • New white oak was ordered and delivered for the running boards, cab floor, and foot boards. More oak will have to be ordered to repair the “Cow Catcher’. 2022
  • The smokestack was repaired and re-installed on the locomotive. 2022
  • New cab windows and doors were custom built out of mahogany (to resist weather and rot), have been primed, and now await glazing and final paint. 2022
  • The tender was disconnected from the locomotive and moved to Coach Shed 1 for sand blasting and paint. 2022
  • The tender was sand blasted, primed, painted, and clear coated with high quality automotive paint to ensure years of wear. 2022
  • The cab was raised slightly to remove rotten flooring and to ease installation of the new running boards. 2023
  • The tender was re-lettered back into its “D&R” lettering. 2023
  • ** All labor involved was volunteer other than the cab windows, which were built by a skilled carpenter. 2020-2023
October 2020.
June 2021.
The tender how it appeared on, 5/2022.
Relocating the tender to Coach Shed 1,
5/2022.
All buttoned up for the Winter, 10/2021.
Fletch removing cab seats, 2022.
Jason works on the cab roof during a HOT summer day in 2022.
Frank and Tyler remove turbo generator (Dynamo) for restoration, 2023.
Rotten cab floorboard removed, 2023.
Chris B. begins sandblasting the tender, 7/2022.
Sandblasting on a nice HOT summer day.
The first coat of epoxy primer is applied by Chris B. Two coats will be applied of primer, base, and clear coats.
Here comes the first coat of base. So pretty!
Second base coat has been applied and now comes the first of coat of clear coat.
“Look Mom, I can see myself!”
Fletcher and Chris “The Teacher” pose by their lettering job. Chris taught Fletch how to make stencils, cut them out, and place them correctly on the tender, 2023.
She sure is pretty!
After two years of hard work by Fletcher’s crew and Mid-Continent volunteers, along with your generous donations, the tender is 98% complete. All that’s left is the restoration of the tender “headlight” and install the foot boards on the rear.

Another Step

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The runboards and handrails on a steam locomotive are necessary appliances that allow the crew to inspect and service many other appliances attached to the boiler. These include the locomotive’s air pumps, bell and ringer, sand dome, and generator. On the Chicago & North Western no. 1385 an extension of the runboards also becomes the cab floor/support so the 3-D puzzle-solving of the locomotive’s reassembly stage continues. For this update, we’ll stay on the runboards and address the handrails in the near future.

Installing the runboards and handrails now is important for two reasons. First, every bracket, support, or stanchion is attached to the boiler with studs and each of those studs requires another hole in the boiler to be drilled and threaded. As part of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) inspections to bring a locomotive back into active service, the boiler is pressurized with water and every penetration of the boiler must be tight and with no leaks. This inspection using pressurized water is called the hydrostatic test and must be passed before we can fire the boiler for the initial steam tests.

The other major reason for installing runboards and handrails now is it will make the remaining work on the top area of the boiler much easier. It will also make access much safer with a more stable platform to use.

There are a pair of brackets on the smokebox that hold the lower step over the cylinders and then a pair on the boiler proper. The front pair of brackets on each side of the boiler proper are tasked with double duty.

They are also the mounting brackets for the air reservoirs which account for their size and shape. The reservoir is held into the crescent shape by a pair of straps that go around the tank and then are bolted to the top & bottom of the bracket.

Behind the air compressors, two brackets are studded to the firebox sidesheets which will hold the runboard and the front of the cab while the rear of the cab is held up by a bracket on the end of the engine frame. 

On the left side of the locomotive, the next parts added for fit-up include the steps over the air compressors and the rear portion of the runboard/cab floor. 

Also, in place for fit-up is the lower cab wall that closes in the space between the runboard and the firing deck.

Moving to the right side of the locomotive the process is much the same except that at the forward edge of the cab the runboard is a bit higher off the rail than on the left side. 

The rest of the right side is much simpler in that it is a single level. The forward runboard brackets here, too serve as brackets for one of the main air reservoirs.

The fit-up process is a work in progress but is moving us ever closer to the boiler hydrostatic test and then steam test.

All photos courtesy of M.L. Deets.

2023 DULUTH Progress Report

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Catch up on all the restoration progress on Duluth South Shore & Atlantic sleeping car DULUTH by reading the 2023 Progress Report.

Download the PDF

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.

Donate

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.