Welcome to the Chicago & North Western #1385 steam status blog! Follow along as we bring the 1907 American Locomotive Company 4-6-0 steam engine back to operating condition.
As we work towards the completion of the Chicago & Northwestern 1385 steam locomotive rebuild, many things are in process. Currently, much of the work is focused on mounting and assembly. The Mid-Continent Railway Museum (MCRM) is excited to announce we have hired an additional locomotive specialist to support the work being done by SPEC Machine. MCRM has hired TJ Doyle. TJ comes with 20+ years of experience on locomotive rebuilding. He has worked for Kettle Moraine Railway and Mid-West Locomotive and Machine. TJ lives in the area and has winters off from his current career as an operating engineer. We look forward to his help and experience as we work to bring this project to completion.
Sometime after the first part of 1942, the C&NW changed the “face” of 1385. They were required to. The steps from the front bumper beam to the smokebox of the engine were changed to conform with a mandate from the Interstate Commerce Commission. The ICC was the federal board governing, amongst other things, the interstate dealings of the railroads from 1887 to 1996 and what was left of the ICC became the Surface Transportation Board thereafter. The range of the many things under their purview included safety appliances and devices on rail equipment and one of those things was the runboard steps on the front end of locomotives.
This update will be using “runboard” as that is the terminology the C&NW uses throughout their drawings for 1385, although the components are known by numerous other names, including running boards, foot boards, and tread plates. You will note the portion of the drawing below was issued January 12th, 1942, and elsewhere on a portion of the drawing not shown states “For all R-1 class engines with old boilers.” The 1385 is indeed an R-1 class and has what the C&NW called the old boiler.
A best guess of the reasoning behind this requirement is that it made it so all vertical spaces between steps on the runboard would have a solid plate so a person’s foot could not slip between steps.
Here is a photo of sister engine C&NW #1402 showing one of the R-1 class step designs before the ICC required modifications.
Below, we see the old steps propped up into place to be able to check alignment and attachment.
On the engineer’s side you can see how warped and cracked the attachment edge of the original step has become.
A new plate of steel was purchased, sheared, and bent to form the replacement steps.
Here, we see the new engineer’s side step has been trimmed to fit the bumper beam and is clamped in place, ready to be drilled for the mounting bolts.
On the fireman’s side the magnetic base drill has already made the holes and the bottom mounting bolts are in place.
The runboards that get attached to the smokebox and connect to the steps discussed in this update will be the next pieces of the puzzle to receive attention.
Donate to the 1385 Restoration Fund
The Chicago & North Western #1385’s restoration relies heavily on donations. We’d love to bring this piece of history back home to Mid-Continent and have it running again. If you like seeing these updates and would like to help bring this project to fruition, please consider donating!
Mid-Continent Railway MuseumPosted on by Jeffrey Lentz
What’s that sound? That is the Barco M-23 Power Reverse Gear from C&NW #1385 following refurbishment.
What’s a power reverse gear? It is a pneumatic cylinder that is used to control the position of the valve gear on the locomotive. Not only does it control the direction of the locomotive’s movement but also how much power the locomotive can make.
When #1385 was built she rolled out of Schenectady with a manual reverse lever or “Johnson Bar.” As shown on the evaluation card, the power reverse gear was added in January of 1942 as one of the many improvements the C&NW made to the R-1 class, including our engine. The power reverse is a much safer way to make adjustments while the engine is in motion and allows for much finer adjustments at the same time.
Some refurbishment of the gear was necessary. That task was made much easier with the help of Dennis Daugherty sharing his vast reference library. Included was a 4-part text on Railway Locomotive Maintenance by F. E. Kardes from the 1940s. This text listed specific details on the Barco equipment, such as machining tolerances and setup details.
Once repairs were completed, the reverse cylinder was clamped to an assembly table and the reverse quadrant was clamped to the roll cage of the forklift. This was done in the same relative positions they will be in when installed on the locomotive. An air line was attached and the cylinder to allow the reverse gear to be put through its paces. We now have another piece of the #1385 puzzle ready for service and awaiting attachment to the boiler.
As work progresses on appliances the question comes up on where do we store them? The best place we can think of is, as seen in other updates, on the engine itself. This is also true of the air compressors.
The 3-D chess continues with a careful layout of where on the boiler the holes will be drilled to receive the studs that will hold the compressor bracket. Great care is required so the compressors will end up straight up & down with the bracket mounted to the curved surface of the boiler barrel.
3-D Chess continues: Layout created of where the holes will be drilled to receive the studs. M. L. Deets photo.
A careful test-fit with everything suspended from the gantry, confirms the stud placement. M. L. Deets photo.
The perfect fit to the boiler barrel is a testament to both the skill of Continental Mfg. and attention to dimensional detail during the design process.
A Perfect Fit: A testament to both the skill of Continental Mfg. and attention to dimensional detail. M. L. Deets photo.
As a parting shot, here is the Fireman’s perspective looking from the cab toward the front of the engine. M. L. Deets photo.
Mid-Continent Railway MuseumPosted on by Jeffrey Lentz
Mid-Continent Railway Museum volunteers gathered at SPEC Machine outside of Middleton, WI on Friday February 24th and Saturday February 25, 2023 to apply paint to numerous loose parts in preparation for installing the items onto the locomotive in the near future. Parts receiving primer and paint included the ashpan, brackets for the air tanks, bracket for the power reverse, sand dome parts, and numerous other components.
Turnout for both days of work sessions were great – almost too good on Saturday, making it necessary for some mandatory breaks while waiting for the paint to dry before adding additional coats.
A big thank you goes out to the volunteers that participated – a few of whom signed up for museum membership just to be able to attend this session. The work was organized and led by Pete Deets and Ed Ripp of the 1385 Task Force. They were joined by volunteers Chuck B., Ross S., Larry S., Richard C., David S., James W., Robert D., Brayden E., Joey R., Jim B., Andy S., Gary B., Rusty S., Ken E., and Jeff H.
Thanks also go out to our host, SPEC Machine for opening their shop to our volunteers to make this session possible.
Volunteer crew on the afternoon of February 25, 2023. Gary Bjorge photo.Sand domeCab supportMiscellaneous brackets.Air reservoir brackets.Ash pan control connectors.Ash pan components.Ash pan component.Ash pan component.Ash pan doors.
