News - Mid-Continent Railway Museum

Your Help is Needed to Complete Our New Display Building

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Jeffrey LentzFebruary 2, 2018

Mid-Continent Railway Museum has one of the largest restored wooden car fleets in North America and is continuing to obtain and restore additional wooden cars. Nowhere else is there anything like it, and its potential is tremendous. At the present time … Continue reading →

2017 Calendars Now Available

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Jeffrey LentzDecember 14, 2016

Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s “Whistle on the Wind” 2017 calendars are now available. The calendar features three color and ten black & white images. Images included are a mix of historical railroad imagery as well as more contemporary scenes from Mid-Continent … Continue reading →

September 24-25, 2016 Flood Update and Detour Route

Posted on September 23, 2016 by Jeffrey LentzSeptember 28, 2016

UPDATE WEDNESDAY 9/28/2016 9:31 AM

Water levels have steadily gone down since Monday morning. Museum Road remains closed as of Wednesday morning but is expected to reopen by late Wednesday or Thursday. Roads have also reopened in the neighboring village of Rock Springs. Museum visitors coming for the weekend of October 1-2 are not expected to encounter any travel impediments.

UPDATE SATURDAY 9/24/2016 9:07 AM

Hwy 136 and County Hwy DD in the village of Rock Springs are now closed. This will impact visitors traveling via Reedsburg and points immediately west. It is recommended from Reedsburg to follow Hwy 33 east all the way to Baraboo in order to approach North Freedom from the east via Hwy 136 and County Hwy PF. Using this detour, travel time from Reedsburg is estimated at 40 minutes rather than the typical 20 minutes.

Flooding Closes Area Roads

Recent heavy rains have caused the Baraboo River to rise to moderate to major flood levels. Water is anticipated to completely cover Museum Road (a.k.a. Diamond Hill Road) by the afternoon of Friday, September 23 and remain covered throughout the weekend. Museum Road is the primary route used by visitors to reach Mid-Continent Railway Museum.

The flooding is not anticipated to impact Mid-Continent’s ability to remain open and operate train rides as scheduled.

When arriving from the direction of Baraboo/Wisconsin Dells/Madison, a detour route is available which requires an additional five minutes travel time. White ground-directional signs pointing the way to Mid-Continent will be placed along the detour route, beginning at the 4-way stop sign in downtown North Freedom. Directions are as follows:

From the 4-way stop sign in North Freedom, follow County Hwy PF south for 3/4 mile
Turn right on Ulrich Road, follow it for 1 mile
Turn right on Museum Road, follow it for 3/4 mile
At the stop sign, turn right. Continue for 500 feet. The museum depot is located on the left side of the road.

Google Map of Suggested Detour Route

For any questions, please contact Mid-Continent Railway Museum at 608-522-4261 or toll free at 800-930-1385.

MCRM Awarded $10,000 Grant from Emery Rail Heritage Trust for DL&W 595

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Jeffrey LentzMarch 14, 2017

MCRM has generously been awarded a grant from the John H. Emery Rail Heritage Trust for the museum’s Delaware, Lackawanna & Western No. 595 coach car. The Trust recently announced the car is receiving a $10,000 matching grant toward rebuilding the trucks on which the historic 1915 coach rides.

The rebuild is being completed as part of a major rehabilitation program of Mid-Continent’s four Lackawanna coach cars, the backbone of the museum’s operating fleet. DL&W Nos. 425 and 557 have already gone through the truck rebuilding program and No. 563 will follow. The cars have faithfully served the museum for decades, but wear and tear have finally caught up with them, necessitating substantial truck overhauls.

As a dollar-for-dollar matching grant, Mid-Continent must receive $10,000 in donations toward DL&W No 595 by no later than March 31, 2017. To ensure Mid-Continent is able to make full use of the grant, please consider making a donation.

The Emery Rail Heritage Trust previously awarded Mid-Continent $10,000 toward the Chicago & North Western No. 1385’s boiler during the Trust’s inaugural series of grants awarded in August 2015.

The Emery Rail Heritage Trust was established in Paola, Kans. by the late John H. Emery. John was a long time Chicago resident, but had deep family ties in Paola. He was an avid rail enthusiast who loved to ride trains around the world, and wanted to help preserve rail equipment and infrastructure that will allow future generations to share his experiences during what he considered the “Golden Age” of railroads, from 1920 – 1960.

: Crane company crew and MCRM volunteers join forces to remove a truck from under DL&W 595.

: A pair of cranes hoist DL&W 595 in the air to facilitate the removal of its trucks.

: Rolling temporary shop trucks under DL&W No. 595.

: Rolling temporary shop trucks under DL&W No. 595.

Make your donation via mail using our printable donation form or donate online using the form on our Donation page. Be sure to write in “D&LW 595 Matching Grant” on both the printed and online forms. Credit/debit card donations can be accepted by phone at 608-522-4261 or 800-930-1385 during museum office hours. All donations are tax-deductible.

Fundraising total last updated: March 14, 2017

Update 3/14/2017

Thank you to the donors who helped us reach the $10,000 goal. Your donations together with the John Emery Rail Heritage Trust have combined to raise over $20,000 towards the D&LW #595.

DULUTH Arrives at Mid-Continent

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Jeffrey LentzDecember 18, 2020

By William Buhrmaster, Mid-Continent Railway Museum

On September 7th the DULUTH sleeping car arrived at Mid-Continent Railway Museum.
The sleeping car was unloaded on September 8th and is now setting on a pair of 6-wheel trucks for the first time in 82 years.

Duluth South Shore & Atlantic sleeping car “DULUTH” is one of a series of five 10-section sleeping cars built by The Barney & Smith Car Company of Dayton, Ohio in 1902. The car is of all wood construction, with varnished mahogany interior, fine marquetry throughout, stained glass windows and green plush upholstery. In addition to the sleeping section the car features a stateroom, a smoking room as well as men and women lavatories. The car was used on the DSS&A’s North Country Mail (between Duluth, MN and Sault Ste. Marie) and remained in active service until 1934. The car left the DSS&A in December 1934 when it was sold to a Michigan resident and hauled to the shores of Lake Superior where it has been used as a summer cottage for the past 81+ years. In December 2015 the owners, Bob and Beth Krasche, generously donated the DULUTH to Mid-Continent Railway Museum. Since then museum volunteers have been finalizing plans to load, move and acquire appropriate trucks for the car.