Mid-Continent Railway Museum

Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s trains have traveled the rails at North Freedom for 60 years… rails which are themselves often well over 100 years old. Now your help is needed to guarantee Mid-Continent’s rail line remains safe to operate for another 100 years and beyond.

In spring 2023, Mid-Continent completed the MCRY Rail Relay Phase 1, which included replacing 2,500 track feet. That effort addressed only the most urgent areas of extremely worn and fatigued rail.

MCRY Rail Relay Phase 2 is the next crucial step in addressing worn and fatigued rail along Mid-Continent’s rail line.

We have obtained two bids for Phase 2. We will refer to them as Bid Package #1 and Bid Package #2.

Bid Package #1 will relay ALL rails not already replaced on the main line from the restoration building to the end of the track at the quarry. It will include increasing the runaround area at the quarry so we can run the #1385 around the train and operate as normal. It will include the installation of 12,470 track feet (2.36 miles) of relay rail and On-Track-Materials (OTM) on the main track and sidings areas (includes farm crossings, culvert, and all work tasks). Furnish and install 2,069 new cross ties on the main track and sidings. Add ballast and perform 12,847 track feet (2.36 miles) of machine surfacing on the main track and sidings. Construct new end of track earth berm using materials available on site.

Bid Package #2 will relay only rails on the main line from Ulrich Road to the last switch at the quarry (Project Areas 3-5). It WILL NOT repair and extend our run around track for the #1385, meaning we will have to push the train back to the station. It will include the installation of 11,472 track feet (2.17 miles) relay rail and OTM on main track and sidings. Install 1,600 new cross ties, add ballast, and perform 12,786 track feet (2.42 miles) of machine track surfacing on the main track and sidings in Areas 3 and 5.

After using all our unrestricted cash on hand, we are short $316,858.82 to do bid package #1 and short $79,080.92 to do bid package #2. We would like to do the whole project but unless we come up with the funds, we will not be able to do any of this work. I am asking all our members, friends, and supporters to help fund and spread the word about this project. We can start this work in December and have it completed by opening season 2025. With 1385 coming back in the summer of 2025 it will give us nice heavy rail supported by new ties to operate on. This work will give us many years of headache free operation regarding our rail line. 

In this time of need no donation is too small. Please consider a donation and passing the word to all your friends, family, and fans of history and railroading. We wish to thank you for your past support of the Mid-Content Railway Museum. If anyone would like more detailed information on this project, please reach out to us.

Mid-Continent is home to the oldest surviving, and largely unmodified, gas-electric rail car built by the Electro-Motive Corporation. Built in 1925 for the Great Northern Railway as #2313, the motor car was later sold to the Montana Western and renumbered to become their #31 – the paint scheme it still wears today. The motor car was added to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ list of Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks in 2003. It last operated in 1987 and has been out of service ever since awaiting repairs to its original Winton engine. During that time, it has been a stationary display piece inside Mid-Continent’s Coach Sheds.

Now the time for waiting for repairs is over! Mid-Continent is puting this car back into operating condition so visitors can once again enjoy a ride aboard this historically significant car, but your help is needed. Mid-Continent’s earlier fundraiser for this project successfully got the project off the ground and has allowed work on engine repairs to begin. Additional donations will be necessary to complete repairs to the motor car’s radiator and control systems. Plans call to ultimately repaint it into its Great Northern paint and lettering.

Matching Funds Available!

A Mid-Continent board member has pledged to match each donation to the Montana Western #31, dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000! Help us reach our goal of matching this challenge grant. Together, this will provide $20,000 to complete repairs to the Winton engine and start radiator repairs. This matching fundraiser began on October 9, 2024.

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-Continent’s daily operation locomotives on and off until 1991 when it was removed from service because of boiler issues. It was stored as inoperable until the Fall of 2020.

Over the past 3 years; father and son team Jason and Fletcher Reiman, along with a crew of volunteers, have embarked on the D&R #9’s cosmetic restoration. The D&R #9 project has previously raised a total of $9,999 thanks to many kind donations, which was used to cosmetically restore the tender. That phase is effectively complete. This year, the crew of volunteers would like to begin the cosmetic restoration of the locomotive itself and have aptly named 2024 as the “Year of The Cab!”

For our second fundraiser, we are again setting our goal to $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!

East Jordan and Southern #2 is Mid-Continent’s oldest train car. It was originally built in Nov. 1864 as first-class coach and acquired by the museum in 1963. It has been at Mid-Continent for the past 60 years. In order to finalize this unique car’s restoration, funding is required.

The Crossing Tower was built for the Wisconsin Central in Neenah, WI and moved to Mid-Continent Railway Museum in 1991. After decades of standing guard in the North Freedom, the tower needs to come down for structural repairs to be completed. The structure will be taken down in November 2024 and the timeline for its repair and return to the display yard is dependent on donations.

Please consider making a donation to the “DSS&A Sleeper DULUTH Fund” so Mid-Continent can restore the DULUTH sleeping car to its former glory. It is Mid-Continent’s goal to accurately restore the DULUTH to its original condition (1902 to 1915 time period).