Category Archives: Car Shop General Updates

2022 Restoration Department Work Session Dates Announced

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on by

Mid-Continent’s Restoration Department has released its 2022 work session schedule. These work sessions are a great way to get involved at Mid-Continent Railway Museum.

Our doors are open to anyone willing to give us a hand and help us with the restoration work. Give us a hand for a day or several days throughout the summer. Every bit of help makes a difference and is appreciated. We have a wide range of needs (i.e. painting, cleaning, stripping, wood work, roofing, refinishing, upholstery, metal work, and more) and everyone can be a help.

If you’re interested in volunteering please reach out! To be placed in contact with Bill Buhrmaster, MCRM Restoration Manager, send us a message using the below form or call the museum office at 608-522-4261.

Session Number2022 Work Session Dates
1February 19-20
2March 11-12-13 Rescheduled to March 17-18-19 due to weather
3March 25-26-27
4April 8-9-10-11
5April 22-23-24
6May 14-15-16
7June 3-4-5
8June 24-25-26
9July 8-9-10
10July 23-24-25
11August 5-6-7
12August 20-21-22
13September 9-10-11
14September 24-25
15September 30-October 1-2
16October 14-15-16
17October 28-29-30
18November 11-12-13
19December 2-3-4

Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic DULUTH Sleeping Car Restoration 2021 Progress Report

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on by

Very good progress was made on the DULUTH project in 2021 thanks to a great crew of volunteers, contractors and hired help. The primary focus was to work on restoring the 10-section sleeping compartment but a lot of other areas and parts of the car were also worked on during the year. The most noticeable progress on the car has to be the interior woodwork that has been stripped of its 120 year old varnish and shellac. What has reappeared is beautiful mahogany and marquetry throughout the car. Another significant milestone for 2021 was the upper sleeping berths and lower berth seat ends, as they were completed and delivered to the museum. This included six replicated upper berths and four restored (original) upper berths. The berths are absolutely beautiful and we look forward to the day when they are reinstalled in the car. Underneath the car significant progress was made the air and hand brakes. As of the end of the year we now have functioning air brakes and the hand brake system is 95% complete.

Photos and additional information on the progress made on the DULUTH Project during 2021 follows.

Berths

View of the sleeping compartment showing the woodwork that has been stripped during 2021
  • Completed the construction and finishing (staining/varnishing) of the (6) new upper berths
  • Completed the construction and finishing (staining/varnishing) (6) new lower berth seat ends
  • Applied final finish (stain/varnish) to the (4) original upper berths
  • Delivered all of the completed berths, seat ends, seat cushion frames to the museum
  • One of the original upper berths after being restored and following fresh coats of stain and varnish.
  • Another of the original upper berths after being restored and following fresh coats of stain and varnish.
  • A crate containing (5) of the upper completed berths being loaded in Michigan.
  • A crate containing (5) of the upper completed berths being unloaded at Mid-Continent.
  • (3) of the (6) new lower berth seat ends getting ready to be loaded and shipped to MCRM

Interior

  • All of the old finish (shellac) has been removed from the existing woodwork in the sleeping compartment, men’s smoking room and the women’s toilet room. This work was performed by hired help due to the extensive scope of this work and the large number of work hours required.
  • All of the clerestory windows were removed from the car. New windows are being made as the railroad revised the design of these windows and eliminated the original stained glass.
  • Sent out 100+ pieces of interior trim and wood parts to be chemically stripped
  • (12) sets of new seat cushion frames were made. Each set includes a head rest, seat back and seat bottom
  • (12) sets of seat cushion support frames and seat back top rails were made
  • (12) pairs of seat cushion support blocks were made and finished
  • Test fit the revised berth partition overlay piece (prototype)
  • Material was purchased for reproducing the headliners in the car
  • Interior woodwork in the process of being stripped inside the DULUTH.
  • Interior woodwork in the process of being stripped inside the DULUTH.
A portion of the end door after being stripped.
  • Mirror frame in the process of being replicated. Original frame (top) and replicated marquetry for a new frame (bottom).
  • New bottom seat cushion supports.
  • Test fitting the berth partition trim piece in the sleeping compartment with the aid of a laser frames and the seat cushion frames.
  • Taking delivery of the replicated oval window.

Men’s Smoking Room

  • Volunteers have further developed the drawings for the missing Smoking Room and Men’s Toilet walls
  • Removed the deteriorated headlining panel along the east wall.
  • Ordered a replacement wall panel (for above the three windows) that had significant water damage
  • The east wall of the smoking room showing the headliner and upper wall panel removed.
  • The west wall of the car across from the smoking room showing the stripping in process.

Exterior

  • Continued to remove the roof material (rolled asphalt and tar) off of the car. The roof is presently approximately 75% stripped and the majority of the wood on the roof deck appears to be in very good condition
  • (9) new oval window frames (mahogany) were made
  • (25) new outer window frames (mahogany) were made
  • 160 feet of new poplar window sills have been made for the car at an area technical college
  • We have started to remove some of the deteriorated wood siding and trim from the car
  • New replica oval window frames.
  • New lower sash window frames.
  • The cross-section of the original window sill.
  • Making the new window sills at an area Technical College.
  • View of the lower roofing being removed.
  • The upper roof deck after the roofing material has been removed.

Air and Hand Brakes

  • Completed the fabrication and installation of all of the air brake cylinder levers and rods
  • Tested the functionality of the air brakes
  • Finalized the hand brake system design
  • Completed the installation of all of the hand brake levers, rods , supports and guides under the car
  • Remaining work on the hand brakes involves installing the hand brake levers (handles), stems and support bracket in each vestibule
  • Two of the new brake cylinder levers that were made. The steel levers are 1 inch thick and 36 inches long.
  • The bottom side of the Duluth showing the air cylinder with the new levers, rods and hangers installed.
  • Volunteers installing some of the hand brake brackets.
  • View of the air brakes being tested on the DULUTH.

Parts and Hardware

  • Cleaned, restored and delivered over 400 pieces of berth and sleeping compartment hardware
  • Presently 95% of the berth and sleeping compartment hardware has been obtained, reconditioned and restored
  • Cleaned and restored the hardware and rollers for the (25) window shades
  • Secured a Baker heater for the car. The original one had been previously removed from the car
  • Restored Berth Pulley mechanism.
  • Restored and polished window shade hardware.
  • Boxes containing over (400) pieces of restored berth hardware.
  • Baker Car Heater acquired for use in the DULUTH. Awaiting restoration.

Planning

  • Updated the list of the sleeping compartment work tasks and sequence of activities
  • Obtained a proposal for reproducing additional wood parts for the car
  • Updated the three year restoration plan
  • Developing 2022+ grant requests

Fundraising

  • A total of $35,185.12 was donated (plus $1,000 pledge) to the DULUTH Project during Nov. 1, 2020-Oct. 31, 2021 fiscal year.
  • The DULUTH Sleeping Car “Matching Your Funds Drive” campaign kicked off in 2Q 2021 and met its goal in the 4Q of 2021 by raising a total of $30,000
  • The “Giving Tuesday Fundraising Challenge” held on November 30, 2021 raised a total of $2,200 

Financial

  • A total of $41,851.79 was expended on the project during the Nov. 1, 2020-Oct. 31, 2021 fiscal year. This is a combination of labor, contractor and material costs.
  • In 2021 Volunteers logged (418) man hours of time on the DULUTH project.

Report by
William Buhrmaster
MCRM Restoration Department
January 8, 2022

This report is also available as a PDF.

2021-DULUTH-Progress-ReportDownload

2021 Restoration Work Session Schedule Announced

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on by

In preparation for resuming volunteer work at Mid-Continent, I’m pleased to rollout the 2021 Restoration Department Volunteer Work Session Schedule. The volunteer work sessions kick off with the first session on April 5th – 7th and runs through December with one or more session each month. In addition, based on the availability of volunteers, we will add a number of non-scheduled sessions during the season so be sure to be on the outlook for these notices.

About a week prior to each session a reminder and call for help will be posted to the Member’s Discussion Board [Mid-Continent membership required to access] and a notice will be sent out via email to the volunteers on the Restoration Department’s email distribution list. To help with the work session planning we’re asking all volunteers interested in joining a work session to contact Bill Buhrmaster in advance of the work session. This helps make sure that we make the best use of our volunteers and we can have productive sessions. [If you don’t already have Bill’s contact info, reach out to the MCRM office at inquiries@midcontinent.org].

We have a solid core of volunteers that help with the restoration work and we’re very interested in expanding the group that actively participates in the Car Shop. Our doors are open to anyone willing to give us a hand and help us with the restoration work. Give us a hand for a day or several days throughout the summer. Every bit of help make a difference and is appreciated. We have a wide range of needs (i.e. painting, cleaning, stripping, wood work, roofing, refinishing, upholstery, metal work and more) and everyone can be a help. If you’re interested in volunteering or would like more information, please feel free to drop into the Car Shop during a work session or contact me.

For everyone’s safety and health we will be following the Covid regulations including those for social distancing and for wearing masks. We will have and maintain the appropriate cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer on hand in the Car Shop. The regulations and requirements may change over time but we want to do our part to make sure everyone returns home healthy.

In the event that you’re not comfortable working at the museum during the pandemic or you’d like to like to do some volunteering from home we can use your help with our “at home” projects. We maintain a good size list of “at home” projects that may be of interest. This is work that can be picked up at the museum, worked on at home and returned to the museum at a later date. The “at home” projects are typically parts and pieces that need to be cleaned up and repainted or new parts that require painting and varnishing. Please contact me if you’re interested in assisting with any of the “at-home” projects.

Despite the pandemic we managed to have a productive 2020 thanks to outstanding support from the volunteers that participated in the work sessions and helped us out from their homes. We’re hoping to do even better this year as we have a good project list and plenty of opportunities for volunteers to participate in a wide variety of projects. Please join us as we welcome everyone willing to help us preserve and restore Mid-Continent’s Collection pieces.

I’m looking forward to seeing you in the Car Shop! 

Bill Buhrmaster
MCRM Restoration Manager

Date(s)Session Type
April 5-6-7Restoration Dept. Work Session
April 9-10-11Restoration Dept. Work Session
April 16-17-18CANCELED: Restoration Dept. Work Session
April 23-24-25ADDED: Restoration Dept. Work Session
April 30 – May 2Restoration Dept. Work Session
May 14-15-16Restoration Dept. Work Session
June 4-5-6Restoration Dept. Work Session
June 25-26-27Restoration Dept. Work Session
July 9-10-11Restoration Dept. Work Session
July 23-24-25Restoration Dept. Work Session
August 6-7-8Restoration Dept. Work Session
August 20-21-22Restoration Dept. Work Session
August 28-29 ADDED: Restoration Dept. Work Session
September 10-11-12Restoration Dept. Work Session
September 17-18-19Restoration Dept. Work Session
October 1-2-3Restoration Dept. Work Session
October 2-3Vintage Rail Car Tours Event
October 15-16-17Restoration Dept. Work Session
October 22-23-24-25ADDED: Restoration Dept. Work Session
October 28-29-30-31MORE DAYS ADDED: Restoration Dept. Work Session
November 13-14Restoration Dept. Work Session
December 4-5Restoration Dept. Work Session

Restoration Department 2020 Progress Report

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on by

Volunteers in car shop

As 2020 draws to a close, the Mid-Continent Railway Museum Restoration Department is pleased to look back at this challenging year with a sense of teamwork and accomplishment. All things considered, we had a good year but volunteer work at the museum was shut down from mid-March through early June, reducing our annual planned work sessions by 25%. On June 6th volunteer activity resumed at the museum, and thanks to savings funds and the generosity of donors we were still able to make headway on projects without using any of the museum’s operating funds.

To help navigate the pandemic more frequent work sessions were held to spread out the work and the volunteers. The level of dedication was impressive as volunteers were working in the Car Shop with great regularity up to the end of October. Even with the museum closed to the public and pandemic occurring a total of (28) different volunteers took part in the work sessions and collectively put in over (265) man-days of work at the museum throughout the year. An equal amount of time was put in by volunteers working on projects at home throughout the year.

Thank you to everyone that helped us by volunteering and/or by donating to preserve and restore the historic railroad equipment at Mid-Continent. The accomplishments listed in this report could not be possible without the dedicated group of volunteers. Summarized below is a list of the progress and accomplishments for the Restoration Department in 2020.

East Jordan & Southern combine #2

The west side letter board was completed with the filling of screw and nail holes, sanding and priming. The east side letter board required patching, installation and fabrication of the north end extension which was missing. That was followed by filling, sanding and more priming to complete the letter board. The north end drip boards were also installed. Three of the four platform steps have been taken apart and are in the process of being rebuilt. Work was also started on cleaning up the trucks. Remnants of pinning striping were uncovered, likely dating back to the 1902 refurbishment by Hicks Locomotive & Car Works.

In the second half of the summer work moved to the interior of the car. The east side wall boards had previously been removed from the car. The paint was stripped from these boards and the wall is in the process of being rebuilt. Much of the paint on the west side wall has also been removed although the wood needs to be cleaned up with chemical stripper. Also work was done on the floor to replace some bad wood and missing boards. Finally, all the clerestory windows were removed. The stained glass will be remounted in new frames during the winter months.

Related Links:
EJ&S # 2 Restoration Updates
EJ&S #2 Roster Page

Duluth South Shore & Atlantic DULUTH Sleeper

The year kicked-off by successfully meeting the fundraising goal for the “Buy A Berth” fund drive. These funds enabled the contractor to replicate the missing berths for the car. By late summer the new upper berths and lower berth seat ends were all constructed. In addition replacement cast brass claw feet were made and polished for the new seat end. With the new berths completed efforts turned to stripping the old finish (shellac) off

of the original upper berths and seat ends. Presently all of the berths and seat ends are awaiting the application of the stain and varnish.

Inside the car volunteers focused on working in the sleeping compartment by removing 9 of the 10 veneer headlining ceiling panels that were water damaged and couldn’t be salvaged. In addition all interior hardware (i.e. berth pulleys, latches, roller shades) was removed so the parts can be cleaned and restored. A prototype of the mahogany berth partition trim piece (an overlay) was developed and test fit in the car. Also all of the existing seat cushions (backs, bottoms and head rests) from the sleeping compartment of the car were removed. In early fall samples of missing woodwork in the sleeping compartment were removed from the car so the parts can be replicated as part of the 2021 work.

On the exterior of the car the window sills on both sides of the car were removed as all of it was rotten and couldn’t be salvaged. In addition, volunteers started to remove the existing rolled roofing material off of the roof. Plans call for removing the balance of the rolled roofing in 2021.

Under the car significant progress was made on the air brake system as the brake foundation plan was finalized. With the design set volunteers proceeded to reposition the air cylinder and complete all of the air piping under the car. The next steps will be to fabricate and install the brake levers and rods to the trucks.

Volunteers working at home made significant progress of restoring hardware for the car. Work completed ranged from restoring oil lamp roof vents to over 300 pieces of berth and sleeping compartment hardware.

Related Links:
DSS&A DULUTH Restoration Updates
DSS&A DULUTH Roster Page

Goodman Lumber Co. Shay #9

The water tank was bolted to the frame and the tank was re- lettered. The rear sand tanks were restored and re-installed as were the rear steps. The whistle was removed and a new lever (previously missing) was replicated. The wood tool box that was mounted on the rear of the Shay was constructed (to be installed in 2021). Main air reservoir and the front head light removed for restoration and re-painting. Lastly, a pair of Lima gauge lamps (for the steam gauge and water glass) were acquired and restored.

Related Links:
Goodman Lumber Co. #9 Roster Page

Lake Superior & Ishpeming coach #64

All of the seat castings and cast heat guards were de-burred and painted. All of the upper and lower sash (inner) windows were stained, varnished and glazed. The lower roof repairs were completed on the NE corner of the car and the lower roof repairs in the NW corner of the car are in process.

Related Links:
LS&I #64 Roster Page

Soo Line stock car #29667

Installed a new steel roof on the Soo Line stock car.

Related Links:
Soo Line #29667 Roster Page

Soo Line caboose #203

The old rolled roofing material was removed off of the entire roof. More siding repairs and replacement were made and the side windows were removed (for restoration). A replacement oak end beam (for the north end) was purchased and is in the process of drying out so it can be cut and installed in 2021.

Related Links:
Soo Line #203 Roster Page

Milwaukee Lake Shore & Western coach #63

An original Dayton Mfg. Company side lamp was restored and installed in the MLS&W #63 coach. This is the first of eight side lamps needed for the car.

Related Links:
MLS&W #63 Restoration Updates
MLS&W #63 Roster Page

Duluth South Shore & Atlantic coach #701

Portions of the east side of the DSS&A #701 coach were restored and repainted so the original style numbers could be painted onto the car.

Related Links:
DSS&A #701 Roster Page

Badger Fish Car #2

Restored and installed (8) window guards in the car. Installed the missing step trap latch and in the process of installing the blind hardware (lifts and springs) on the wood blinds (8 of 21 completed).

Related Links:
Badger #2 Roster Page

Car Shop/Miscellaneous

  • Scaffold Upgrades made and the elevated work area was
  • Electrical service provided to the large ventilation fan (south end)
  • Electrical service provided to the south end work deck area
  • Restored and repainted the two vestibule doors for the Soo Line #2017
  • Installed tarps on the CB&Q #1490 and the KGB&W #76 baggage cars
  • Applied clear coating to the: DSS&A #18052 (box car), DSS&A #996 (gondola) and the east side of the Soo Line #99085 (caboose).
  • Applied deck preservative and installed a new covering over the crate on the DM&IR flat car. Moved several pallets of passenger car parts from the Car Shop to the new Storage Building
  • Cleaned and organized the interior of the C&IM business car
  • Continued to work on removing deteriorated sills from under the C&NW #1099
  • Repaired and sealed gaps under the west side wall of the Car Shop
  • Added ballast and sealed the south end doors of the Car Shop
  • Made (3) new display sign bases
  • Made bases for the (2) new donation boxes

Related Links:
Soo Line #2017 Roster Page
CB&Q #1490 Roster Page
KGB&W #76 Roster Page
DSS&A #18052 Roster Page
DSS&A #996 Roster Page
Soo Line #99085 Roster Page
D&IR #5537 Roster Page

At-Home Work

With the pandemic keeping volunteers at home more than normal, many of the volunteers stepped up to work on restoration projects in their home workshops. Following is a list of some the off-site work completed during the year:

  • EJ&S #2: Made, stained and varnished new mahogany window stops (20), made, stained and varnished blind stops (42), Purchased, polished and installed (10) window blind catches, Installed 10 window blind lifts, Finished construction of southeast corner all wood steps and seat castings sent out for machining and de-burring,
  • DULUTH: Restored coach lamp roof vents, restored sleeping compartment berth hardware (in process), and a Barney & Smith corner
  • Goodman #9 Shay: Designed and constructed the rear tool box and restored the Lima gauge lamps
  • LS&I #64: Stencils cut for lettering the car, windows refinished
  • Badger #2 Fish car: Restored the window guards for the car, restored the blind hardware (lifts and springs).
  • DSS&A #701: Stencils developed and cut for the car numbers
  • GN #3261: Machined, de-burred and polished baggage rack
  • Created drawings for the: DULUTH, LS&I #64, Soo Line #203, EJ&S #2 and the Goodman Shay #9.

Fundraising (donations received)

Dailey Foundation, Giving Tuesday, DULUTH Buy-A-Berth and donations to support the Restoration Department projects

Looking ahead to 2021 we look forward to resuming work on the active projects. Unfortunately, funding for the Restoration Department projects will be negatively impacted by the loss of income from the 2020 shut down and the weekend only schedule in 2021. In 2020 the Restoration Department used over $12,000 of designated funds (from savings accounts) and we’ll need your help now to keep the Restoration Department projects moving ahead in 2021! This is where you can really help. I hope you will be able to help the Restoration Department continue to make significant progress in 2021. Won’t you please consider making a generous contribution today?

Donations supporting the Restoration Department can be submitted online or by mail to the MCRM office. Be sure to designate your donation for the “Restoration Department”.




Printable Donation Form (PDF)

Mid-Continent Railway Historical Society
PO Box 358
North Freedom, WI 53951

In closing, many thanks to everyone that volunteered their valuable time and contributed funds towards the restoration work at Mid-Continent in 2020. Have a Happy, Healthy and Safe Holiday and a Happy New Year!!! I’m looking forward to seeing you at Mid-Continent in 2021!! The first 2021 work session will be held on April 3rd.

William Buhrmaster
MCRM Restoration Department

Lantern