The Reedsburg/Baraboo area received over eleven inches of rainfall over the weekend of June 7-8, 2008, causing the Baraboo River to rapidly rise. The museum property at North Freedom became completely flooded. The waters have since subsided, but the damage is immense. The museum has reopened for weekends only, as of August 2. Below you will find updates that will be added as they become available. Links at left provide more information. They will also be updated when possible.
POSTED 7/26/08
It has been nearly eight weeks since the flood shut us down. The outlook for returning to operating status before Labor Day is good, but it will be on a restricted basis.

The diesels remain a significant part of the problem. This past Wednesday the trucks were removed from MCRY #7 and shipped to Appleton, WI where they will be repaired at L&S Electric. We had hoped that the repairs to MCRY #1256 could be done by members at Mid-Continent, but it was determined earlier today that the extent of the damage will require the professional services of L&S as well.

That leaves us with our 44-ton switcher, MCRY #4, as our only motive power. It has been used successfully in some switch moves around the yard. Later today or early tomorrow, a crew will take it out on the line pulling empty coaches. If there are no signs of trouble during these test runs, the #4 will become our duty engine.

Since it is not designed for road work, we will limit train operations to weekends only and limit the consist to two Lackawanna coaches and the caboose. Another limitation we will have to conform to is the distance of our trips. Damage to the bridge at Seeley Creek means stopping shy of that point and pushing back.

Representatives from FEMA were here Friday for a second tour of the facility. The primary focus of their tour was to view the damage done to the track, both bridges, the depot and platform, and other items that may qualify for their Public Assistance Program.

Damage to the platform has proven to be much more extensive than first realized. The movement of a small forklift along the asphalt portion of the platform created deep ruts, indicating that the subsoil has washed away just as it did from under the brick sections.

In the midst of all the flood recovery work, Mid-Continent’s members, donors and staff had cause to celebrate as we successfully completed a nearly two-year fund raising campaign to match a challenge grant for the restoration of the Badger 2 fish-stocking car. The gift that helped us reach our $475,000 goal arrived in the mail last Thursday and local newspapers carried the story the following day, adding to the media attention we have received since the flooding occurred.

Plans for the fish car are to move it to Avalon Rail, Inc.’s shop in West Allis, where the restoration work will take place. But first there are some housekeeping chores to perform to satisfy the Jeffris Family Foundation that we have indeed met the contractual terms of their challenge grant. Then we can start making arrangements to load the car for shipment to Avalon. Thanks to the flood, we are becoming quite adept at trucking equipment to other facilities.

We are also pleased with the response received from our second annual Gandy Dancer Festival, held last Sunday (the 20th) in Mazomanie. Once again we are indebted to Bill Gardner for the free train rides provided by the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad. The list of musical performers arranged by members of the Southern Wisconsin Bluegrass Music Association was outstanding. And the cooperation received from everyone in the Mazomanie community was exceptional. Plans are already underway for next year’s festival.

We wish to recognize the financial support received since our last update for both the flood recovery and the Badger 2 campaigns. We also like to share with you the words of encouragement we receive regarding all of the work taking place at the museum.
POSTED 7/14/08
In the ten days since our last update there has been significant improvement in our recovery work, but we are still not able to operate trains yet. This is primarily due to work that needs to be done on our diesels and repairs to the track on the approach to the south end of the Baraboo River Bridge.

As previously reported the 44-ton MCRY #4 (usually referred to as the GE) was moved into the Engine House under its own power. We had hoped to complete the repair work this past weekend, but another six inches of rainfall brought the river back up above flood stage, which in turn flowed back into the outlet pipe from our mechanics pit. The work has been postponed until next weekend.

The repairs to the track will be made once we receive the rock needed to re-ballast about 50-yards of track on the southern approach to the bridge. This is also the location of the switch that allows us to move between the main line and the passing track. Once we have this switch functional and the #4 is good to go, then we will finally be able to make some switch moves to get the operating fleet off the main where it has been sitting since the flood occurred, June 9th.

Being able to move the operating fleet means that all of the journal boxes on these coaches have been repacked. Once we have motive power we can give train rides. You will likely (hopefully) see the #4 in service pulling two of our Lackawanna coaches and the caboose. Our target date is August 1.

We are welcoming visitors to the property but they are currently limited to touring the grounds to see the equipment. All of the public buildings are open and clean except for the depot, which has sustained the most severe damage of any of our structures. We are awaiting the various bids for the repair work in order to award a contract and get that process going.

All of the archives have been removed from the office basement, attic and offices and are in storage off-site. We have signed-off on a contract to install new furnaces and air-conditioning units for the office and depot. The office installation should start later this week, to the delight of the office staff, who have been without A/C since the flood.

Our first insurance checks arrived to help cover the cost of repairs to the buildings. However it was found that they were incorrectly made out and have had to be returned to the underwriter for replacement. We have also been in touch with FEMA and are continuing to work through that process to gain assistance in covering costs for those repairs to items not covered under our flood and rolling stock policies.

As always we wish to recognize the financial support of our donors over the past several days and share their words of encouragement for the work taking place at the museum.
POSTED 7/4/08
Independence Day and most of America is enjoying the start of a three-day vacation. Still there is a small group of museum staff and members here (with more coming tomorrow) working on the equipment in anticipation of the day we can get back into operating mode. That will truly be a day for us to celebrate.

The journal boxes have been repacked on all but one of the cars in the operating fleet. And that one will be finished early tomorrow. The plan is then to move those cars off of the mainline. If all goes extremely well, the move will be made by using our 44-ton switch engine.

A successful test was made late this afternoon to see if the electric motors could function under a light load without shorting out. The positive result will allow the diesel crew to move the switcher inside the Engine House for the first time in four weeks, where they can continue servicing the engine with the benefit of access to the mechanics pit.

We wish to thank all of those who have donated their time to get the equipment several steps closer to operating condition. We also wish to thanks those who have contributed through their financial gifts and continue to share with you their names and comments of support.
POSTED 6/24/08
The operative word these days is cleaning. It applies to every aspect of the work taking place on the property. Volunteers finished cleaning the pavilion, where the public restrooms are relocated. The picnic tables have been located and sanitized and are now back at the pavilion waiting to be used. Crews continue to clean in the Car Shop and Engine House. The amount of tools and materials located in these buildings makes the work especially tedious.

We had special helpers this past weekend take on the cleaning of the tools on display in the Track Shed. Jeanne Waters and her five year old son, Brody, came dressed in their bib overalls, work boots and gloves and spent the better part of Saturday getting this exhibit building in condition to be seen by the general public. Another group of youthful helpers showed up today as a van from the Eau Claire YMCA arrived to find out what they could do to help with the flood recovery process.

Cleaning the journal boxes on our rolling stock continues to be a top priority. We have an inventory of 117 pieces of rolling stock on the property. Only 23 of them were on high enough ground to escape the reach of the flood. Of the remaining 94 pieces, 55 had yet to receive any attention as of the end of the day Sunday. More work has taken place over the past two days, but at a slower pace as most of our volunteers had to return to work.

We are finding out how hard it is to order the requisite journal pads to go back into the cleaned boxes. There appears to be only one manufacturer in the U.S. and materials have to be special ordered. Similarly the journal oil we need is not an item that is carried at the local hardware store. It will take time to bring in the amount needed to properly fill all of the journal boxes on our equipment.

The first reports from our insurance adjustors have been submitted to our underwriters. This will help get the flow of money started to fund the costs of repairs to our buildings. In the meantime we are learning about the inner workings of FEMA. The current disaster declaration for Sauk County pertains only to individual homeowners. We will become eligible for aid once a second declaration is made for businesses and municipalities. That is expected to take place sometime today or tomorrow.

We wish to thank all of those who have donated their time and their financial gifts and continue to share with you their names and comments of support.
POSTED 6/20/08
Seen from the web cam the view of Mid-Continent is rather placid. The equipment is idle. There is very little movement to record of any kind. But all of this belies what is taking place in the shop areas where crews of volunteers are busily cleaning up and filling the two large dumpsters ordered for that purpose.

The folks who usually labor in the Car Shop with wood-working projects have become adept at emptying journal boxes of oily water and contaminated pads, cleaning the journals and adding fresh lubrication.

Time in the Engine House has been absorbed with the tedious task of cleaning and drying tools. The loan of a power washer has given the crew the chance to wash down the concrete floor, making the place look better than it has since the year it was built. And another crew will be here tomorrow to start cleaning the Western Coal & Coke #1’s chassis and all the parts recently machined as part of its restoration process.

The offices are neater thanks to the efforts of our archivist and other staff in boxing all the loose documents, drawings and photos rescued from the basement archive room before the flood waters got them. A temporary storage site has been obtained and items will continue to be transported over to the new location as they are carefully repackaged and containers properly labeled.

The last few days have been spent giving tours of the site to insurance adjusters and local government officials. Their response is one of uniform disbelieve at how expansive the reach of the waters were last week and the consequences of the damage done. Mid-Continent is closed for train rides for the foreseeable future.

A reopening date hinges strongly on the availability of motive power. Offers of help have come from our friends at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth, National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, and the Illinois Railroad Museum in Union with the possibility of loans of diesel engines until we get our own back in working condition.

Before the end of the day we hope to receive proposals on the cost of repairs to our own fleet. The water got just high enough to saturate the traction motors and air-brake portions, requiring that these pieces be shipped out for cleaning. Another potential obstacle confronting us is the weight limits that have been posted on local roads and highways. We will have to work with village, town, county and state agencies to get the necessary permits to move stuff on and off the property.

We sincerely appreciate the continued support and words of encouragement that have come in from family, friends and colleagues. You continue to wish to recognize their charitable support by listing their names as part of these updates and sharing their comments with you.

And keep watching that web cam. Something interesting is bound to happen sooner or later. Besides it makes our web site statistics look impressive.
POSTED 6/17/08
In our recovery process the primary focus has been on reestablishing the essential services of water supply, sanitary facilities, and phone services. Yesterday evening both of our wells were back in operation, thanks to the work done by Smith Well Drilling. We still encourage all member volunteers to bring their own water supply, however. By this evening our public restrooms will have been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized.

Phone service is still a work in progress. Access on our primary line (522-4261) was restored as of this afternoon. The secondary line has faithfully functioned throughout the disaster. But we cannot at this time receive faxes. Phone or e-mail is the best way to make contact with the museum office.

The depot was the hardest hit of our buildings. The hard wood floors have buckled in several places. The doors that could be opened cannot be shut. And there are still drawers that cannot be opened due to the swelling. All of the merchandise from the Gift Shop end of the depot has been removed. The next step is to start pulling up the carpeting.

The depot basement is a little more foreboding. This was used as the main storage area for much of our supplies and equipment used in train operations. A huge dumpster now sits outside the basement door waiting to be filled with everything from down below, which must be considered a total loss.

The least hit was our Coach Shed, where the restored equipment is on display. The greatest harm to our rolling stock is the water in some of the journal boxes. Thankfully the water did not get any higher and damage all of these wooden gems in our collection.

One comment I have heard about our Car Shop, where the restoration of the wooden cars takes place, is that it looks like a tornado hit inside the building. Wood of every size, shape and type is scattered around the shop wherever it came to rest as the waters subsided. Clean-up in this building will begin in earnest tomorrow.

The Engine House looks no different than it did before the flood. We are use to it being cluttered as a result of all of the work that has been taking place on the Western Coal & Coke #1. The sad part is seeing the layer of mud coating the chassis and all of the parts that have been machined as part of this repair project. Every surface will have to be cleaned before we can resume the work.

The good news from the Engineering Department is that our heavy duty forklift and the hi-rail truck required very little maintenance before being put back into service. The tamper will require more effort before it can be put in use, but nothing so major that we cannot take care of it ourselves.

The bad news for the Engineering Department is the erosion around the approaches to the Baraboo River bridge. The side closest the depot is the worse. The road bed will have to be rebuilt, which would also be a good time to install new switch ties. The water is still too high to allow a detailed inspection of the bridge, but the bridge is still standing and looks to be no worse for being under water for a few days.

Although progress is slow, every step feels like a major success. We appreciate all of the financial support and words of encouragement that have come to us from members and friends. In return we would like to give them a little recognition as an expression of our gratitude for the care and concern they have extended to us. Click on the DONORS link above to see who has contributed. We THANK YOU!
POSTED 6/15/08
Surveying the grim scene of mud stained equipment and buildings, the members of the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom can only find hope from the sight of two ancient symbols of survival still standing proud after the flood waters have subsided. In its prized collection of wooden coaches and locomotives are two railroad cars that have endured it all before.

“On our web site is a photo of a small passenger coach we simply refer to as the 1099,” says Don Meyer the museum’s manager. “The caption reads ‘1099 after flood wreck, June 20, 1908’” he says with a note of irony in his voice. Almost one hundred years to the day the narrow gauge car sits amid the flood debris at Mid-Continent, eerily reminiscent of the image captured in that black and white photo a century ago.

Not far away another survivor of past floods shows the mud-stained signs of having been partially submerged during the past week. And once again the car’s history brings a strong link to current events.

“We simply call her the Caz car,” Meyer says. “She ran on a short-line here in Sauk County, from La Valle to Cazenovia.”

The route known as the Cazenovia & Southern had only a brief history. Bridges along its rail line had a tendency to washout, making it a costly railroad to maintain. And in the summer of 1935 major flooding in that section of the county did enough damage to cause the railroad’s owners to finally abandon their operation. The Caz car was sold to a private owner and moved to his property in Lake Delton, a community prominently featured in recent news accounts of this year’s flood.

“But we won’t close,” says Mid-Continent’s president, Jeff Bloohm. His confident prediction is based on the strength of its volunteer base drawn from more than 600 members of their historical society. Even before the waters could recede far enough to start the work, Mid-Continent members were on the property making an initial assessment of the damage and planning their steps towards recovery.

Meyer makes a point of telling members planning to help with clean-up efforts to bring their own water supply. The museum’s source of water comes from two wells on the property. Only one is operable one week after the flooding and it has yet to be tested.

The quick assessment by member volunteers as they arrive is that every facet of the museum’s operation has been affected by the flood. Every building, every piece of equipment took on some water. Hardest hit was the museum’s historic 1894 depot built by the Chicago & North Western Railway.

Saturday was the first time anyone could enter the building. What they found was severely buckled hard-wood floors, doors that were swollen shut, and saturated merchandise in the gift shop. It will be another day before the basement can be pumped dry, allowing anyone to make an assessment of the damage there.

“We are about preservation,” Meyer says. “Even though we are primarily known for our train rides, the point has always been about preserving our railroad heritage. We’ve only been dealt another setback,” he confides.

But not an insurmountable one; not as long as the museum owns coaches like the 1099 and the Caz car to inspire their dedicated work force. Wrecked but not destroyed, these vintage coaches are just a small part of a major collection which symbolizes the will to survive any adversity.
POSTED 6/14/08
The view at Mid-Continent can once again be enjoyed from a safe distance. Member Pat Weeden has both web cams working. This will give everyone ample opportunity to watch the water recede and the work being done by the cleanup crews.

The drop in water level has been very dramatic. All the shop buildings and the camp car area became accessible this afternoon (June 14). And hopefully by morning the road to the south yard that runs along the Baraboo River should be passable as well as the small parking lot where the depot is located. This will leave only the big parking lot and the road from the Village of North Freedom submerged.

Sunday morning (June 15) we anticipate we will be able to start pumping the water out of the depot basement. The depot is currently accessible from the platform side. Extensive damage has taken place inside this building. The hardwood floors have buckled, making it hard to open any doors. The wood drawers in the ticket office are still swollen shut and windows are difficult to open.

What is not evident from the web cam is the damage done to the depot platform in various locations. The sand that held the bricks in place has eroded allowing the bricks to wobble when stepped on. The dirt under some asphalt portions has washed out through the seams in the timber facing, making soft areas that will have to be filled.

The first view of the Baraboo River Bridge is not encouraging. Visual evidence, though still a little remote, indicates the approaches on both side of the bridge are seriously eroded. Reports also indicate it is out of alignment. But it is still standing.

Clean up efforts will begin on Sunday June 15 now that all of the buildings can be entered. This will be somewhat hampered by the fact that the power to our primary well is turned off. This is a precaution until the water in the depot basement, where the circuit breaker panel is located, is pumped dry. Water is still available from the smaller well that serves the office building.

One of the bright spots in this whole episode is the addition to our web site of a secure donor page. Donations in support of the museum and its flood recovery program can be made by credit card. We encourage everyone who has some spare change to assist Mid-Continent by making a donation.
POSTED 6/12/08
For the first time in its 46 years ofoperations at North Freedom, the Mid-Continent Railway Museum has had to cancel its train rides.

“This is a point of pride for us,” says Don Meyer the museum’s general manager. “We have always told our guests that the train runs, rain or shine.” Even last February’s blizzard did not prevent the museum from holding its celebrated Snow Train event. But in this year’s flooding Meyer admits the museum has finally met its match.

“The extent of the flood damage is so excessive,” he reports, “that it looks like it will be a severe challenge for us to even stage our Autumn Color and Pumpkin Special events in October.”

By the time the water crested Tuesday night, June 10 every building except for the office, the highest point of the property, was inundated with water. The worst hit was the museum’s 1894 Chicago & North Western depot.

“This is probably the most recognizable building on our property,” Meyer says. “Every visitor walks through its doors to purchase their tickets for the ride. It’s where your journey always begins.” Now this historic icon has standing water in each of its rooms several inches deep.

Also hard hit is the museum’s equipment. “We will literally be stuck in the mud once the water recedes,” he admits. “We will likely need to truck our diesel engines to another site for clean-up and repair. The work will simply be too big for us to do ourselves.”

The damage from the mud and water will also affect the coaches people ride in. “Nothing will move,” Meyer promises, “until each car has its wheels and bearings cleaned and lubricated.” So the work will have to take place outside right where the vintage equipment is currently standing for fear of doing further damage.

What is totally unknown at this time is the extent of the damage done to the museum’s track. This includes the two bridges that are part of its four-mile route. In the final analysis, the rebuild of the bridges may confront the museum with its most costly repairs. It will depend on what a physical inspection reveals once the water level has gone down far enough for an informed assessment to be made.

All the main roads leading to the museum have been closed due to the high water. Still there have been a few venturesome people who have found a way to get there by locating the back roads that have not been affected by the flooding.

Everyone who makes it has camera in hand. The site of steam locomotives and railroad cars waist deep in the muddy current is just too amazing not to record. Meyer’s weekly web log message ruefully refers to the museum’s facility as Lake Mid-Continent.

Ironically something else that has been inundated is the museum’s web site. Their service provider has asked Mid-Continent’s webmasters to remove the link to its two web cams located on the property. Visits to the site were just too numerous for the provider to handle. As an alternative, a gallery of still images is being archived so people can view the water’s invasion of the once active rail yard. Follow the links at the upper left hand corner of this page to view the pictures of the damage.

“We’ll survive,” Meyer says. “It’s that point of pride we have about what has been accomplished here since we first moved our collection to North Freedom in 1963.” The commitment of the society’s members can be summed up in just four words, “The trains must run.” And given time they will again.

Donations to aid with the clean-up and repair of the facility are tax-deductible and can be sent to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s mailing address at P.O. Box 358, North Freedom, WI 53951. Donations can also be made via credit card through the DONATE link or by mail. All gifts are gratefully appreciated and will be properly receipted.