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. 

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.

Fundraising Update

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)