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Mid-Continent Railway Museum

North Freedom, Wis.

Text: Mid-Continent Railway Museum. A historical and educational experience. Images of railway cars, people, and Mid-Continent logo.
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Category Archives: C&NW #1385 Status Updates

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.

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C&NW #1385 Homecoming Celebration

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on July 9, 2025 by RebeccaJuly 9, 2025

C&NW #1385 Homecoming Celebration Details

After several years away, the Chicago & North Western #1385 steam locomotive is finally returning to Mid-Continent Railway Museum to complete the final steps of its restoration. To celebrate this monumental event, we will be hosting a #1385 Homecoming Ceremony for the locomotive at the museum. Starting at 4:30 PM on Saturday, July 12th you can…

🎉 Watch the #1385 arriving at our museum depot on its flatcar
🎤 Hear speeches from our museum project leaders
📸 Snap a group photo and witness the banner breakthrough
🍿 Enjoy snacks and drinks that will be provided throughout the event

PLUS… Bid in our silent auction for a “#1385 Cab Experience” ticket!

This ticket will allow the highest bidder to enjoy a private tour of the locomotive, fire it with coal, and blow the whistle during a future test run in the museum train yard! All proceeds will go to finishing the #1385’s restoration and eventual operation in 2026. The rules of the “C&NW #1385 Cab Experience” Auction are listed below.

We would also like to welcome everyone back to the museum on Monday, July 14th at 9:00 AM to witness the locomotive being lifted back onto the tracks and paired with its tender.

Rules of the “C&NW #1385 Cab Experience” Auction

The C&NW #1385 Cab Experience Auction will be a sealed-bid charity auction held at the 1385 Homecoming Celebration. Here’s what that means…

How to Bid:

Bids are entered by making a donation in support of the C&NW 1385 project. Regardless of whether you win the auction prize or not, you still get to enjoy the good feeling that 100% of your donation is directly supporting the goal of finishing 1385’s restoration back to operation.

Bids are made privately in a sealed envelope at the Homecoming event on July 12th or by using a bidding link/QR to be provided in person at the homecoming event. Credit/debit/PayPal bids will be made using the secure PayPal platform and do not require a PayPal account.

Only one bid is allowed per person – so make it your best offer! Bids cannot be combined or added to once submitted.

Bidding closes at 6:30 PM CDT on Saturday, July 12th. At the close of the bidding period, the individual that submitted the highest bid/donation wins the 1385 Cab Experience prize.

Mid-Continent will not be listing the current high bid while bidding is open.

The sealed bids/donations will be reviewed and the winner notified within 48 hours of the close of bidding. The winner will remain confidential. The amount of the winning bid will be announced.

All bids/donations will receive a donation acknowledgement at the end of the year tax year, per Mid-Continent’s donation acknowledgement policy. The winning bidder will receive a donation acknowledgement for the amount of the donation less the Fair Market Value of the award. The Fair Market Value of this prize is $300.00

Additional terms and conditions:

There is no minimum bid.

In the event there is a tie for the highest bid, the names of the tied individuals will be placed into a hat and drawn to determine the winner of the auction.

The exact date for redeeming the prize is to-be-determined because the steam locomotive project is still in progress. We are working diligently to complete the necessary fundraising and work to reach the phase of #1385’s restoration where test runs can begin. Mid-Continent will work with the winner to arrange a date for the #1385 Cab Experience that works for both parties. If for any reason the prize cannot be awarded or a mutually agreeable date is not available, the winner will be provided a Mid-Continent Railway Museum gift card equal to the Fair Market Value and redeemable toward any publicly available tickets.

Posted in C&NW #1385 Status Updates, News

1385 Steam and Air Line Installation/Donation Update

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on March 19, 2025 by RebeccaMarch 19, 2025

We have had multiple teams working on various projects and great progress has been made. We are now working on the installation of the steam and air lines. As of right now, we are still looking for funding to bring the #1385 home. Thank you for your continued help and support on the full restoration of the #1385!

Sincerely,

Andy
MCRY President

Donations can be made online by clicking the link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=QWRDMKVLN9CHU

You can also make a donation by phone or mail. (If donating with a check, please write ‘Bring the #1385 Home Fund’ in the memo line.) For assistance, contact our office staff at 608-522-4261. For more information and weekly updated donation fund thermometer, please check out our Facebook or our website post titled, “Your Help is Needed to Bring the C&NW #1385 Home Again!”

#1385 Cab, Smoke Stack, and Hand Rail Installation/Donation Update

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on March 13, 2025 by RebeccaMarch 13, 2025

🚂 #1385 Cab, Hand Rails, and Smoke Stack Installation/Donation Update 🚂

The #1385 now has its hand rails and smoke stack installed!

As of today (3/13/2025), we are now up to $23,895 on our Bring the #1385 Home Fund! We have an end goal of $80,000 in order to transport the steam locomotive back to Mid-Continent. For more information and weekly updated donation fund thermometer, please check out our Facebook or our website post titled, “Your Help is Needed to Bring the C&NW #1385 Home Again!”

If you would like to donate online, please click the link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=QWRDMKVLN9CHU

Donations can also be made by phone or mail. (If donating with a check, please write ‘Bring the #1385 Home Fund’ in the memo line.) For assistance, contact our office staff at 608-522-4261.

Your Help is Needed to Bring the C&NW #1385 Home Again!

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on January 31, 2025 by RebeccaMay 1, 2025
The C&NW #1385 in North Freedom, taken February 19th, 1978. Randy Long Collection.

Members, Friends, and Supporters of the Mid-Continent Railway Museum

We are now raising funds to bring our #1385 Chicago & North Western R-1 class steam locomotive home. As most of you know, the locomotive has been out of service for a little over 26 years and away from the museum since 2013. Finally, in 2025, we plan on bringing #1385 back to Mid-Continent.

The plan is to move the engine by truck and load it onto a flat car. From there, the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad will bring the engine back by rail. This move will include three crane lifts, transportation and securing. With the information we have now our latest estimate, including all required work, is around $80,000. Once it’s back home, final assembly and testing can begin. Our goal is to have #1385 ready for operation in 2026. Please help support the Bring the #1385 Home Fund.

If you would like to donate online, please click the button below. Donations can also be made by phone or mail. (If donating with a check, please write ‘Bring the #1385 Home Fund’ in the memo line.) Our mailing address is:

P.O. Box 358
E8948 Museum Road
North Freedom, WI 53951

For assistance, contact our office staff at 608-522-4261.

Created using the Donation Thermometer plugin https://wordpress.org/plugins/donation-thermometer/.$80,000‘Thanks$32,805‘Thanks41%

The raised amount is accurate as of 4/30/2025.

Sincerely,

Andy Spinelli

President

Mid-Continent Railway Museum

Donate Here!
Posted in C&NW #1385 Status Updates, News

Chicago & Northwestern #1385 Form 4 Update

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on November 20, 2024 by RebeccaNovember 20, 2024

A Form 4 is a crucial document used by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to record detailed information about the boiler of a steam locomotive. The form includes data on the boiler’s construction, materials, and condition, as well as the results of various tests and inspections to demonstrate compliance with safety regulations.

The Form 4 has been completed and submitted to the FRA in Washington for the #1385. The FRA gave us approval to proceed with the FRA witnessed Hydrostatic test. This was done on October 10th, 2024. All went as planned with no issues.  The engine passed the test and FRA Inspector Dave S’s final comment on the test was “Good work!”

Now we are waiting for Washington for the final approval of the Form 4. We have compiled a complete list of all the work to be done on the engine and have assessed who is doing each task. We will bring in the following labor to work on the completing the engine: volunteer museum members, paid staff, and third-party contractors including Spec Machine and FMW. This winter will be a very busy season for us. Some of the larger tasks left to complete are installing the air and steam lines, adding insulation and the sheet metal jacketing, installing the cab, ashpan installation, smokestack installation, and installing the pistons and rings. There are many other smaller items that need to be completed as well.

The #1385 Task Group and Management Committee are still meeting weekly and the items to get completed are getting smaller in number. Our plan is still to have the engine back at the museum in 2025 and at least begin testing. I want to thank our friends and supporters of this project. We could not have gotten to this point without your help, support and understanding. If you would like to give a gift to #1385, please click the button below to donate online. Your gift will ensure this work is completed in a timely manner and help with transportation costs to ship the engine back to the museum.

Thank you in advance for your positive help and support!

Andy S.

President

Mid-Continent Railway Museum

Click Here To Donate!
Posted in C&NW #1385 Status Updates, News

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Mid-Continent Railway Museum
P.O. Box 358
E8948 Museum Road
North Freedom, WI 53951
Office phone: 608-522-4261
or 800-930-1385
E-mail: inquiries@midcontinent.org

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