🎉 We’re wishing our Montana Western #31 (AKA Great Northern #2313) a happy 100 year anniversary this year! 🎉
Its newly restored model 106A Winton engine has been returned to Mid-Continent and is now back inside the gas-electric motor car. This engine restoration could not have happened without all of your support!
The mechanical and cosmetic restoration of our model 106A Winton engine has been successfully completed and will be shipped back to Mid-Continent! Watch the engine start up below.
This is a huge step in preserving the Montana Western #31 for future generations to learn about and enjoy. We would like to thank you all for your support in completing this restoration!
For more information on the motor car this engine belongs to, please press the button below.
NORTH FREEDOM, WIS. — The Mid-Continent Railway Museum is embarking on the full operational restoration of Great Northern No. 2313, a historic and one-of-a-kind gas-electric motor car originally built in 1925 to connect the rural communities of the Great Northern Railway. Deemed a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 2003 by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, it will carry passengers over the Museum’s 7-mile heritage railroad once restoration is completed. With an estimated restoration cost of $300,000, volunteers and donations are welcome to support the project at midcontinent.org.
“Great Northern No. 2313 is already an important display piece, but we want to provide visitors with an immersive and moving experience that tells the story of railroad technology through the last century,” explained Rusty Schramm, project manager. “We have recently undertaken repairs to the roof, radiator, control system, and fuel tank, but the antique Winton engine has not operated since 1987, and will be our first major undertaking.”
A precursor to the modern diesel locomotive, the motorcar was constructed in a partnership between Winton Engines and the Electro-Motive Company in Cleveland, Ohio. Mid-Continent has contracted with FMW Solutions, a rail preservation firm with experience in repairing vintage locomotives. “As someone who has spent my career dedicated to the maintenance and preservation of EMD locomotives, having the chance to oversee the restoration of this historic engine is a distinct privilege,” said FMW Senior Mechanical Associate and Winton Project Lead Allen Rider. “The engine / generator arrived at the FMW Tennessee machine shop earlier this month, and we will begin the initial disassembly and inspection in the coming weeks.”
After completing the initial inspection and assessment, FMW will work with Mid-Continent to formalize a restoration plan. The restoration will take place at FMW’s Soddy-Daisy facility, which hosts a complete machinery and fabrication shop that can handle the restoration work. The restoration of the engine is further aided by a large cache of original, new-old stock Winton Engine components that have been donated to Mid-Continent.
“Our goal is to have her up and running in time for her centennial in 2025,” says Schramm. “It’s a worthwhile goal and achievable with donations and volunteer help.”
GREAT NORTHERN NO. 2313 HISTORY
Motorcars of the era combined elements of a locomotive, baggage car, and passenger car all into a single vehicle and were often used to replace a two-or three-car steam-powered passenger train, greatly reducing maintenance as well as lowering the number of crewmen needed to operate the train from four or five down to just two. When the Great Northern began using the gas-electric motor car, it reduced costs for the route by 50% as well as reduced travel time compared to the train it replaced.
The development of the early gas-electric motor cars like the one at Mid-Continent directly contributed to the development of diesel-electric locomotives in the years that followed. The same basic technology that powers most of America’s trains today can be seen in its rudimentary form aboard the motor car. Prior gas-electric motor cars had separate controls for the gasoline and electrical controls, but the Hermann Lemp control system used on the #2313 replaced this with a single lever system that was simple enough that a steam locomotive engineer could comfortably use it—an important consideration in the transition from steam to gas-electric and later diesel-electric locomotives.
Motor car No. 2313 was donated to Mid-Continent Railway Museum in 1966 by the Great Northern. It was occasionally used to give rides over the years at the museum and was a featured exhibit at the locomotive manufacturer’s 50th anniversary in 1972, where at least 10,000 people toured the motor car. Since then, it has remained an important, albeit non-operational display piece at the museum.
Mid-Continent Railway MuseumPosted on by Jeffrey Lentz
Mid-Continent is home to the oldest surviving, and largely unmodified, gas-electric motor car built by the Electro-Motive Corporation, Montana Western #31. For 35 years now its engine has been silent, but with your help #31 will be repaired and returned to operation to once again delight visitors with rides along Mid-Continent’s rail line.
About Montana Western #31
Built in 1925, it was the 30th such car built by EMC. Not a locomotive, but not just a car either, #31 contains a 52-person capacity passenger compartment, a baggage compartment, and an engine compartment housing a 6-cylinder model 106A Winton gasoline engine powering a General Electric main generator which supplies electricity to a traction motor mounted on #31’s front truck.
Montana Western #31 was named a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 2002.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
This type of car, sometimes referred to as a doodlebug, was used on branch lines and shortlines when steam passenger trains were not warranted. A self-powered motor car like #31 could be operated by a just a two-person crew, a motorman and conductor.
The 31 was donated to Mid-Continent in 1966. Following a 4-year restoration, it began operations at Mid-Continent in 1972. It continued to operate occasionally until 1987 when the car was removed from service, in need of repairs to its original Winton engine. Since that time it has been a stationary display piece inside Mid-Continent’s Coach Sheds waiting for time and funding to repair its rare Winton engine.
Montana Western #31 provided rides at Mid-Continent in the early 1970s.
The Plan: Return #31 to Operation
Now the time for waiting for repairs is over! Mid-Continent has a plan to put this car back into operating condition so visitors can once again enjoy a ride aboard this historically significant car, but your help is needed to make that happen. Mid-Continent has secured a $10,000 matching grant from one of the museum’s board members for the #31 project. This means your donations will be matched dollar-for-dollar until the $10,000 goal is reached.
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Update
Donors have successfully matched all of the available $10,000 of matching funds from the grant. Read the update…
Please consider donating now to make your donation go twice as far and help Mid-Continent bring this unique car back to life. Funds received will be used to make repairs to the original Winton engine. Any funds raised in excess of what is needed for the motor repair will be used toward other repairs needed to make the #31 operational once again, including light radiator work and roof repairs.
When complete, plans call to make the Montana Western #31 available for rides during select museum special events. This will give visitors a unique experience that hasn’t been available at Mid-Continent for over three decades.
How to Donate
Donating to the Montana Western #31 project is easy and can be done in just a few minutes.
Donate Online
Donate quickly and securely online with a credit card, debit card, or PayPal account.
Send a check payable to Mid-Continent Railway Museum to:
PO Box 358 North Freedom, WI 53951
Please write “Montana Western #31” on the check memo line.
Donate by Phone
Donate with a credit or debit card by phone with a call to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum administrative office (Monday-Friday) at 608-522-4261 or toll-free 800-930-1385.
Mid-Continent Railway Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax-exempt. A donation acknowledgment letter will be provided suitable for tax-deduction purposes.
For additional information about making donations, visit the Donations page.
