C&NW #1385: Power Reverse

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What’s that sound? That is the Barco M-23 Power Reverse Gear from C&NW #1385 following refurbishment.

What’s a power reverse gear? It is a pneumatic cylinder that is used to control the position of the valve gear on the locomotive. Not only does it control the direction of the locomotive’s movement but also how much power the locomotive can make.  

When #1385 was built she rolled out of Schenectady with a manual reverse lever or “Johnson Bar.” As shown on the evaluation card, the power reverse gear was added in January of 1942 as one of the many improvements the C&NW made to the R-1 class, including our engine. The power reverse is a much safer way to make adjustments while the engine is in motion and allows for much finer adjustments at the same time.

Some refurbishment of the gear was necessary. That task was made much easier with the help of Dennis Daugherty sharing his vast reference library. Included was a 4-part text on Railway Locomotive Maintenance by F. E. Kardes from the 1940s. This text listed specific details on the Barco equipment, such as machining tolerances and setup details.

Once repairs were completed, the reverse cylinder was clamped to an assembly table and the reverse quadrant was clamped to the roll cage of the forklift. This was done in the same relative positions they will be in when installed on the locomotive. An air line was attached and the cylinder to allow the reverse gear to be put through its paces. We now have another piece of the #1385 puzzle ready for service and awaiting attachment to the boiler.

D&R #9 7/12 Work Session

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“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.“

DL&W #563 Lift Update

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Written by Jeffrey Lentz

The fourth and final Delaware, Lackawanna & Western passenger car in Mid-Continent’s fleet has completed the process of having its trucks rebuilt and wheels replaced. Mid-Continent volunteers were joined by crews from McCutchin Crane & Rigging and L&S Electric on July 10, 2023 to pick up DL&W #563 to swap out the shop trucks and allow the reinstallation of its own, refurbished trucks.

The entire operation went very smoothly. The cranes arrived at 8:15 AM to begin setting up. The refurbished trucks were picked up earlier that morning from L&S Electric’s shop in Appleton and arrived at North Freedom at 10:00 AM. By lunchtime, the refurbished trucks were under the car.

This marks the conclusion of a Lackawanna fleet wheel/truck refurbishment program that has spanned 11 years. Each of the four cars were removed from service one-at-a-time during that time span to be worked on as time and funding permitted.

Car Builder: Pullman
Build Year: 1914
Car weight (with trucks) = 108,000 lbs
Weight of each truck = 14,000 lbs

After the crane work was completed, volunteers and L&S Electric staff shimmed the car for proper heights and clearances and then took the car for a short test run to check bearing temperatures. Everything checked out, and volunteers then moved the car into the Engine House to reconnect and adjust the braking system, which they completed the same afternoon.

The car must still complete the required annual brake testing and have a good cleaning of the interior to clear away three years of dust, but is otherwise ready to return operation. With the fourth and final car now on its own wheels, Mid-Continent’s operating coach car fleet is poised to once again be at full strength. This will be of great help operationally as it affords more flexibility if a different car experiences unexpected mechanical issue and needs to be swapped out during summer operations. It also allows for increased capacities during the museum’s busy special events such as Autumn Color Weekends and Pumpkin Special trains.

MCRM personnel assisting with the crane lift on July 10th included: Gary B., Richard C., Pete D., Bob D., Richard G., Ron H., Jeff H., Jeffrey L., B.G. Miller, Richard P., Ed R., Jay S., and Rick T. Sorry if I missed anyone else!

We have also uploaded a time-lapse video of the entire process on our YouTube channel:

Next D&R #9 Work Session 7/12

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Join Fletch and his crew for a mid-week volunteer session on the D&R #9! They will be getting together on Wednesday 7/12, at 10am, to continue plugging away on the #9. Please join if you can.

DL&W #563 Update

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The DL&W #563 trucks are now in assembly, and the contractor shop is hoping to have them done in a month’s time.

As of last week, the journal wicks, wheel axle journals, and bearings were cleaned, and the contractor shop is planning to install the wheels into the trucks this week. We are expecting to have the completed trucks/wheels delivered to MCRM later this summer and are currently seeking donations to help wrap up this project.


Being that the car is nearing completion, any donation helps the museum twice – once from the donation itself, and again when we can sell more tickets for special events because of the added capacity.

If you would like to donate to this project, please click the button below.

Donate to DL&W #563 Coach Car

L&S Electric Photos