Category Archives: Dardanelle & Russellville #9 Status Updates

Welcome to the Dardanelle & Russellville #9 restoration blog. D&R #9.

D&R #9 Update Nov. 2nd 2023

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on by

Update by Jason Reiman

Nov 2, 2023;

Our anticipated work session for October was rained out, and we didn’t want to cover the locomotive right after it had been soaked.  So, after it had a few weeks to dry out, we got a small crew together in November to cover the #9, in preparation for the upcoming winter.  

Our crew consisted of Jim Busse and Jason Reiman. We worked safe and deliberately, pulled the HUGE tarp over the locomotive, and then secured it down below. MANY, many thanks to Jim Busse for helping us out that day.  

I also want to thank Jeff Lentz and the operating crew for getting the #9’s Tender back under cover for the winter. This will allow the brand new stenciling to have one more winter protected from the elements. So many thank you’s to those gents. 

We will pick up our work on the locomotive next spring, but please keep an eye out for upcoming announcements on fundraising and hopefully some smaller winter projects. We NEED your help to keep this project going. Thank you for all the help and support so far.

D&R #9 August Session Update

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Update from Jason Reiman:

“The #9 crew did double duty this month with two separate volunteer sessions: one on Aug 9, and a second on August 19th.  Unfortunately, Fletcher or I were not able to make it to either session as Fletcher was participating in the Juneau County Fair. 

On August 9, the crew finished removing the bolts that secure cab down to the locomotive. Some air brake piping and accessories that ran up through the cab floorboards were also removed, along with the Auxiliary Reservoir.  We once again contacted Comet Welding to fabricate new hanging brackets for the Aux Res, like we had done for the Equalizing reservoir. Thanks, Mike Laabs, for coordinating that. Thanks to Mike Laabs, Jay Slinde, and Steve Pahl for your efforts on that day. 

On August 19, we moved all of the loose parts that we previously removed and were storing to the Eastside (outside) of storage building 1 and logged them in.  All parts were properly marked with paint pens, and checked in.  Thanks, Mike, for the donation of the pens! And thanks Jay and Steve again, and also a thank you to Tyler and Richard P. 

Thanks to the crew for a safe and productive August, and just a reminder that the next volunteer session on the #9 will be Saturday September 9. Hope to see you there.”

September Work Session D&R #9

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There’s a work session scheduled for September 9th starting at 10:00 AM and ending at 5:00 PM.

All volunteers are welcome.

Tasks to include marking parts and moving them to proper storage areas, and “buttoning up” the cab to ready it for the end of the work season.

Upcoming D&R #9 Volunteer Sessions

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on by

Hello #9 fans.  Fletcher’s crew will be having a couple volunteer sessions on our beloved locomotive this month.  

Our first session will be tomorrow, Wednesday Aug 9. We have a small crew that will continue working on freeing the cab from the locomotive.  Our next session will be Saturday, August 19 starting at 10am. We should have a larger crew that day, and pickup where we left off from July. We hope you can make it, and thank you for your continued support!

Update provided by Jason Reiman.

D&R #9 7/12 Work Session

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on by

“Even though the rain this last week Wednesday kept us inside, it worked out well because the work we needed to do, was inside.

Our Mid-Week volunteer session focused completely on the #9’s tender again, but this time we were finishing up the great paint job she got last year.  Chris Burdick joined us to help mix up the paint and hardener, and we set the young ones loose to finish up the coal space on the Tender. Fletcher was joined by his youngest cousin, Carter Reiman, and they both slung some brushes to paint the coal space by hand.  They had a good time, and many laughs.  I was amazed at the difference in the look of the coal tender by simply hand painting it. 

Other tasks we completed included sealing up the top lip of the tender with caulk, and we again took a closer look at the pilot for future restoration.

A big THANK YOU to Chirs Burdick for setting Fletch and Carter up with the paint, and another big THANK YOU to the operations crew for getting the tender inside the Coach Shed last week.  There is no way we could have completed this job if the tender had not been spotted indoors.  Especially with all the rain we received.  

Please keep an eye out for our next work session, I will post it as soon as we have picked a date.“