Author Archives: Jeffrey Lentz

Steam Readiness Auction May 2, 2015

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on by

Steam power will soon be a reality once again at Mid-Continent. As part of the Steam-Readiness Program, certain items that do not fit the focus or needs of the museum will be offered at auction.

Open House – May 1, 2015 — 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Auction – May 2, 2015 — 10:00 a.m.

at North Freedom, Wisconsin

A HISTORICAL EVENT IS HAPPENING — A NEVER-BEFORE OPPORTUNITY TO BID ON ITEMS FROM THE MID-CONTINENT RAILWAY MUSEUM.

With ‘Full Steam Ahead’ the museum is offering many years of hidden treasures that do not fit the time period or focus under which the museum operates.

Included in the auction will be rolling stock, equipment, car and engine parts, rail, steam engine tires, and a large assortment of artifacts and memorabilia from C&NW, Soo Line, Canadian National, Illinois Central, Milwaukee Road, Burlington Northern, Monon, Rock Island, Baltimore & Ohio,  and many other railroads.  Items to be auctioned will be of interest to railroad museums, railroad companies, and all railroad enthusiasts.

Rolling Stock:  2 steam locomotives, caboose, Mt. Harvard coach/sleeper car, CN coach car, AC&Y cars, steam wrecker/cranes, tender, American crane.

Equipment and Parts:  Wheel lathe, LeRoi Self-Propelled Air Compressor, Grade-All Excavator, GMC truck, portable steam boiler, and much more.

Artifacts and Memorabilia: Many lanterns, conductor hats, collectible framed photos, old wall phones and teletype, old suitcases, some railroad dining china, boxes of date nails, many old timetables from various railroads, railroad dining menus, old railroad operations paperwork, and much more.

Other:  Large 12-ft wide metal ‘Chicago Great Western Freight Office’ outdoor sign, Elevated crossing shanty, HO model train sets (brass, Disney, and Marklin).

Final listing of items may change due to logistics and other considerations.

WWW.HAMELEAUCTIONS.COM

WWW.BILLPERKINSAUCTION.COM 

  
TERMS: 10 % Buyers Fee. Online bidder’s 13% buyer’s fee, 3% Convenience Fee for all Credit / Debit card (Master, Discover & Visa Cards) payments. No Tax Cash or Check, Positive Photo ID required, Bank letter of guarantee for all rolling stock paying with a check. $50 Fee on all Returned Checks. Everything sold AS-IS. No Refunds. Announcements made the day of auction have precedence over prior advertisements. All items must be removed day of sale, except rolling stock has 30 days and  must be prescheduled for pick-up.
UNITED COUNTRY HAMELE AUCTION & REALTY & UNITED COUNTRY BILL PERKINS AUCTION & REALTY: 1325 W. Wisconsin St. Portage, WI 53901 608-742-5000 Registered Wisconsin Auctioneers: Travis Hamele #2224 Pardeeville, WI. 608-697-3349, Bill Perkins #1956 Avalon, WI 608-755-1802

C&NW 1385 Open House Planned for February 21-22, 2015

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on by

You’re invited to an open house showcasing the progress on Chicago & North Western No. 1385. Join us to see the latest accomplishments in person!

The open house is taking place at SPEC Machine, 7175 Riles Road, Middleton, Wis.

The open house takes place February 21-22nd at Spec Machine at 7175 Riles Road, Middleton, Wis. The hours are as follows:

Saturday, Feb. 21st – 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 22nd – 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

We hope to see you there!

Frame Painting Complete

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on by

The painting of Chicago & North Western #1385’s frame was completed on Saturday, Jan. 3rd. Pete Deets, one of the 1385 Task Force members had this to say:

Words fail me as THANK YOU doesn’t seem to be near enough. We had 2 fantastic days of volunteer-ism, productive work and lots of fun. In that time we applied 2 basecoats and one topcoat of paint on the 1385’s frame. At the risk of leaving someone out I can say we had the help of Bobbie, Clayton, Ed, 2 Mikes, 2 Jeff’s, 2 Al’s,, Kayla, Steve, Dick, Gary, Dylan, Robert, Larry, Brian, Ron & Kyle. Tom from Grote’s [Howard Grote & Sons] was a great tutor and easy taskmaster. Believe it or not we have put something permanently back on the 1385!

Plans for more volunteer sessions are in the works.

Photos can’t do justice to all the work completed in the past year of cleaning, scraping, engineering, welding, milling new parts, painting, and so on, but the below before-and-after photos are a nice reminder of the progress made. At the time of the first photo on January 11, 2014, the 1385’s running gear had just recently arrived at SPEC Machine and was in the process of being dissassembled.

As the second photo shows, the frame now features two coats of primer and a new glossy black topcoat. There are also many spring-rigging parts already painted to match.

CNW 1385 unpainted frame

Frame of C&NW 1385’s frame as it was one year ago (Jan. 11, 2014). Brian Allen photo.

CNW 1385 painted frame

Frame of C&NW 1385 one year later (Jan. 4, 2015) after cleaning, repairs, and repainting. Brian Allen photo.

Additional photos of the finished paint job are available on photographer Brian Allen’s Flickr photo album.

New Year Begins with a Splash (of Paint)

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on by

The rebuild of the Chicago & North Western steam locomotive is in full swing as of the start of 2015. There are a number of sub-projects at various stages of progression all happening simultaneously involving the frame, driving boxes, wheels, cab and boiler. This post will cover the frame, but additional posts covering other aspects will be posted in the following days and weeks.

Painting of the frame began on January 2, 2015 and is continuing on January 3rd as this post is being written. Mid-Continent volunteers were joined by Tom Hartling of Howard Grote & Sons, a Madison-area company specializing in protective coatings. Howard Grote & Sons volunteered to provide Mid-Continent with Hartling’s expertise in mixing and applying the epoxy primer and urethane topcoat paint used (Carbothane 134 for those interested).

Work started at about 7 AM on Friday the 2nd, with the first of two coats of primer, the first being black in color. After a break for lunch, the second coat, gray in color, was applied with work mostly wrapping up by 4:30 PM. Application of the topcoat was left for Saturday January 3rd.

Work on Friday went quickly thanks to an enthusiastic response by volunteers. Mid-Continent volunteers joining in on Friday were: Mike Wahl, Pete Deets, Ron Kokemuller, Jeff Huttenburg, Bobbie Wagner, Kyle Gherke, Robert Hasheider, Mike Laabs, Larry Stanley, Rich Gruber, Brian Allen, Al Joyce, and Jeffrey Lentz. These MCRM members were also joined by Steve Roudebush (of SPEC Machine), Kayla Roudebush, and Clayton Hendrickson.

Nearly 100 additional photos of the January 2nd workday are available on photographer Brian Allen’s Flickr photo album. The video below is a one-minute timelapse showing the roughly three hours of work adding the second coat of primer.

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