Mid-Continent Railway Museum

A brief history of the D&R #9 begins back in 1884 when the Baldwin Locomotive Works constructed the locomotive as New Orleans & North Eastern. It received a new boiler in 1904. NO&NE sold the locomotive to a surplus dealer in 1917. The locomotive was purchased by the Dardanelle & Russellville in Arkansas and was renumbered to #9. The Mid-Continent Railway Museum purchased the locomotive in 1963 and served as one of Mid-Continent’s daily operation locomotives on and off until 1991 when it was removed from service because of boiler issues. It was stored as inoperable until the Fall of 2020.

Over the past 3 years; father and son team Jason and Fletcher Reiman, along with a crew of volunteers, have embarked on the D&R #9’s cosmetic restoration. The D&R #9 project has previously raised a total of $9,999 thanks to many kind donations, which was used to cosmetically restore the tender. That phase is effectively complete. This year, the crew of volunteers would like to begin the cosmetic restoration of the locomotive itself and have aptly named 2024 as the “Year of The Cab!”

For our second fundraiser, we are again setting our goal to $9,999. Through your generous donations, we can attain this goal. We appreciate any donation you can make towards the project. Every little bit helps! Without your generosity, the wheels of progress will grind to a stop. Fletcher’s “Crew” is dedicated to bringing the project to completion. We will work hard, and we are committed to spending your donations wisely and frugally. Thank you for your support! We cannot do this without you!

Mid-Continent is home to the oldest surviving, and largely unmodified, gas-electric rail car built by the Electro-Motive Corporation. Built in 1925 for the Great Northern Railway as #2313, the motor car was later sold to the Montana Western and renumbered to become their #31 – the paint scheme it still wears today. The motor car was added to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ list of Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks in 2003. It last operated in 1987 and has been out of service ever since awaiting repairs to its original Winton engine. During that time, it has been a stationary display piece inside Mid-Continent’s Coach Sheds.

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. Mid-Continent’s earlier fundraiser for this project successfully got the project off the ground and has allowed work on engine repairs to begin. Additional donations will be necessary to complete repairs to the motor car’s radiator and control systems as well as to repaint it to its original Great Northern paint job.

Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s trains have traveled the rails at North Freedom for 60 years… rails which are themselves often well over 100 years old. Now your help is needed to guarantee Mid-Continent’s rail line remains safe to operate for another 100 years and beyond.

In spring 2023, Mid-Continent completed the MCRY Rail Relay Phase 1, which included replacing 2,500 track feet. That effort addressed only the most urgent areas of extremely worn and fatigued rail.

MCRY Rail Relay Phase 2 is the next crucial step in addressing worn and fatigued rail along Mid-Continent’s rail line. Phase 2 will be much larger in scope, replacing 11,431 track feet (2.16 miles) of rails, joint bars, tie plates, rail anchors, track bolts, and spikes! Check out page 10 of the newsletter for more details on the project.

At current market prices, this phase would normally require $1.5 million to complete, but thanks to an opportunity to buy excellent quality relay rail from a nearby Wisconsin railroad, for a limited time, Phase 2 can be completed for approximately $820,000. This is an incredible savings to Mid-Continent, but we must be ready to purchase the rail promptly when it becomes available.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

We are seeking to raise at least $35,000 from member and online contributions. With a project of this scope, Mid-Continent is seeking funding from multiple sources, but support from our membership is of vital importance. If we are unable to demonstrate support for this effort from within our own membership and supporters, it becomes difficult to convince outside grant organizations why they should give financial support to this project. Your gift today, no matter the size, can help Mid-Continent to unlock larger funding sources.

East Jordan and Southern #2 is Mid-Continent’s oldest train car. It was originally built in Nov. 1864 as first-class coach and acquired by the museum in 1963. It has been at Mid-Continent for the past 60 years. In order to finalize this unique car’s restoration, funding is required.

Mid-Continent’s 1894 depot is the first thing the public sees when visiting our museum. The building’s wood siding has survived three floods in 15 years, but it has taken a toll. Rot is becoming an issue on siding along the building’s lower half and window frames. Plans call for a contractor to make the needed repairs and repaint the building. This work will keep the building looking good for years to come.

Please consider making a donation to the “DSS&A Sleeper DULUTH Fund” so Mid-Continent can restore the DULUTH sleeping car to its former glory. It is Mid-Continent’s goal to accurately restore the DULUTH to its original condition (1902 to 1915 time period). To kick off the next phase of restoration tasks, a $75,000 fundraising effort is underway to allow major material acquisition and some labor costs.