Montana Western #31 | 2024 $10,000 Matching Fund Drive Announcement

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The Montana Western #31 alongside its Winton Engine and Mid-Continent volunteers.
MCRM photo.

To help restore the Montana Western #31 in time for its anniversary next year, Mid-Continent is challenging its members, donors and supporters to raise $10,000 for the restoration of this EMC gas-electric motor car. Some of you may remember that we had a $10,000 matching fund drive in 2023 to kick off the project. This year, we are doing a second $10,000 matching fund drive in order to bring the engine restoration to completion and bring the motor car home to MCRM.

This motor car was a precursor to the modern diesel locomotive, constructed in 1925, by the Electro-Motive Company using a Winton model 106A engine that it still has today. It is also the oldest surviving, and largely unmodified gas-electric motor car built by EMC. Next year, 2025, will be the motor car’s 100-year anniversary!

With this challenge, every dollar donated to this fund drive will be matched dollar-for-dollar, by Mid-Continent member Bob A., up to $10,000. Together, this will raise $20,000 for the Montana Western #31 Fund. 

If you are interested in helping us restore the Montana Western #31 to working condition and bring it back in time to celebrate its 100-year anniversary, please click the button below.

Donate Here

Donations can also be made by phone or mail. For assistance, contact our office staff at 608-522-4261.

Our webpage will be frequently updated with current donation totals so check back to follow our progress!

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Matching Funds Unlocked!

Thanks to you, Mid-Continent’s supporters, we have successfully raised $10,000 for the Montana Western #31. This fulfills the requirements of the matching grant, unlocking $10,000 in grant funds for the motor car’s restoration. Combined, this provides $20,000 in total for the Montana Western #31 and allows the project to continue moving forward!

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The raised amount is accurate as of 12/02/2024.

New cylinder sleeves for the Montana Western #31. MCRM photo.

1385 Update: At the Sawmill

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Greetings from the 1385 Steam Team!

Although progress is happening on the locomotive back at the shop, we had a unique work experience that took place over August 16, 17, and 18 during the Badger Steam and Gas Engine Club annual show.

Mike W, Pete D, Ed R, and the rest of the regular sawmill crew, met and sawed the wood needed for the tender foot board and the tender coal boards. They used steam power in the form of traction engines to run the sawmill at the Badger Steam and Gas Show. Ash and white oak logs were used.

We would like to thank the Badger Steam and Gas Engine Club for the donation of the time of their mill to help another steam engine get back to operation. The lumber is now at the museum awaiting installation. The coal boards will be used to hold back the coal in the tender as it is filled. As the pile drops the boards get taken out. Once we fill the tender back up, the coal boards get placed back into their pockets.

The foot boards will be mounted at the rear of the tender and provide a place for trainmen to ride during switching operations. For safety, the footboards will only be used when the locomotive is traveling forward.

Looking forward, we are in the preparation stage for our next hydro test. More information will be available soon.

Thank you for your positive help and financial support with this project.

Sincerely,

Andy S.

Mid-Continent President

Change as a Constant

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Life is relentless change and that certainly includes locomotive restoration projects. This update explores some of the modifications made to the boiler and firebox configuration of C&NW #1385 in the past year. As a teaser, what differences do you see between these two photos?

Now what do you see different in the two below?

In the 3rd quarter of 2023, the 1385 Task Group resumed responsibility for project management which included reviewing tasks to be completed and setting a goal of returning the engine to MCRM for testing and operation in 2025. As part of the review contractors and resources were added to expedite the process.


In order for the engine to be accepted into service by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) we must complete what is known as the FRA Form 4. The Form 4 is a compilation of calculations and reference documentation to mathematically prove our boiler is safe to operate and determine what the safe operating pressure limit is. That pressure is known as the Maximum Allowable Working Pressure, or MAWP.


The Task Group began reviewing existing calculations and some suspected design deficiencies were found. To get a second and more experienced opinion MCRM partnered with FMW Solutions who confirmed the Task Group’s suspicions. It was determined that six staybolts in the firebox were too small, most of the staybolts in the firebox extended too far into the fire space and the transverse arch tubes between the sides of the firebox and the crownsheet of the firebox were unworkable.


We immediately set plans in motion to create a solution. One part of the work was the shop drawings created by the Task Group. With drawings in hand, the combined forces of SPEC Machine, Hooper Corporation, FMW Solutions, Harvey Diversified Trades, Sharpe Products, and MCRM employee TJ Doyle completed the changes by early June 2024.


The too-small staybolts were a relatively easy repair. The process was to cut out the old bolt and weld in the next larger standard size.

The staybolt ends extending too far into the firebox was also a relatively simple process though the work itself was repetitive and labor intensive. It consisted of cutting and grinding off the ends of the bolts until they protruded no more than 3/8 of an inch from the firebox surface. This measurement is a requirement of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) code of construction for locomotive boilers.

The transverse arch tubes were quite a bit more complex, and it was finally decided to revert to the original C&NW placement and design of two longitudinal arch tubes and patch the openings left from the transverse tubes. First, the tubes were removed from the firebox and then the washout plug collars were removed from the outside.

At the same time, two flexible staybolt sleeves were removed from the throatsheet so washout plug collars for the new arch tubes could be welded in their place.

Twenty-four patches were then welded in place of the removed tubes and sleeves. In the sides of the firebox, the patches also had to include a staybolt so a donut patch was welded in place on the inside and outside.

The staybolt was then welded in place in the donut hole.

On the crownsheet of the firebox the tubes had been placed between staybolts so a flush patch was all that was needed.

The welds were then ultrasonically inspected by TEAM Industrial Services and each weld had zero defects. Ultrasonic inspection of welds is a relatively recent process and is much quicker and safer than X-ray inspection, but it is equally acceptable. The holes for the arch tube washout collars on the backhead were then cut and prepped to have the collars welded in place.

The new arch tubes were then trimmed for proper fit and installed in the firebox.

While the necessary contractors and skilled labor was on site the boiler received two extras. The first was a pair of washout collars and plugs high on the boiler shell and at the front to aid in washing out scale and debris from the front of the boiler back toward the firebox. The second was drilling telltale holes in the firebox ends of the staybolts as needed. When the boiler was built the drilling was not a requirement, but it now is required in the current edition of the code of construction. We were not required to make this change but decided to proceed as a preemptive move in case the FRA required the drilling in the future. A tally of the stays that were drilled and trimmed was chalked on the mudring of the boiler after TJ Doyle had competed the arduous task.

All boiler and firebox modifications outlined in this update were completed by June 2024 and the project has since moved on to hydrostatic testing of the boiler, with one hydrostatic test already completed and a follow-up hydrostatic test planned for the near future.

All photos courtesy of Pete D.

D&R #9 Update August 8-11, 2024 | New Volunteer Session on September 14, 2024 @ 10:00 AM

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[UPDATE: The volunteer session has been moved to Sunday, September 15, 2024]

By the time you read this post, you may have figured out where the D&R #9 was moved to on Sunday August 4. You might not have realized that Fletch was taking the #9 out for a little vacation and makeover. Yes, that’s right; after sitting since the early 1990’s, he thought she could use a makeover. 

On Thursday 8/8, Fletch and his crew helped spot the #9 outside the Engine House, where they started preparing her for the next day’s activities. It was an overcast, cool, and windy day, but it was appreciated as we worked to pack rags in all the nooks and crannies under the cab, boiler, and smoke box. Tarps and sheets were meticulously laid over the Cross Head Guides and Piston Rods. Supplies were delivered, inventoried, and organized. That night, the #9 waited outside the Engine House while Fletcher’s team enjoyed and evening of fellowship, laughs, and hot dogs.

Friday 8/9 is what we eventually referred to as “Beach Day”. It was warm, sunny, and we had plenty of sand. Yes, 4000 pounds of sand to be precise. We assembled scaffolding, set up ladders, and Chris Burdick got to work blasting off decades of old paint, primer, and rust. Blasting started around Noon, and Fletch, Steve Pahl, and I fed 50-pound bags into the blower as fast as we could, finally finishing up around 8pm.  As this is the “Year of the Cab”, we cleaned up the entire cab, inside, out, top, bottom, and a bit forward to the first dome. Once we had blown her off with air, we put her away for the night to be protected from the early morning dew.

Saturday 8/10 was her official “makeover” day. Fletcher received a great chemistry lesson from Chris B. showing him how to mix primers, hardeners, and reducers for the day’s work. As Chris climbed up and down, in and out, and then again up and down the cab about a thousand times, the whole crew worked tirelessly to ensure efficiency by moving ladders, refilling paint guns, and keeping hoses from getting hung up as the primer was laid down. We also saw a lot of interest throughout the day and weekend as museum visitors stopped by to see what was going on. We were happy to have them and enjoyed filling them in on the history of the museum, the #9, and the transformation we were taking her through. We pushed hard as the shadows started to get long, and by early evening were applying a beautiful coat of red on the roof. Fletcher’s mom drove down to the museum that afternoon, and was able to join us right before we started working on the cab roof. From her perspective (as she watched the progress) she said it looked like we were “making her a redhead”. At the end of Saturday, the Cab of the #9 looked NOTHING like it used to, but it wasn’t done yet. We pulled her back into the Engine Shed for protection from the evening dew, and called it a day.

Sunday 8/11 was crunch day. We needed to get the final coat of paint on AND the final clear coat before we could officially label this job done. We worked hard right out the gate and got the new roof covered, and got right to applying the final paint. Fletch continued his work mixing, and quickly garnered the nickname “Picasso” from his father. Chris continued his ladder Olympics and before we knew it the paint was fully applied. After a short dry time, we removed the covering over the roof, and quickly started applying the clear coat over ALL the work that had been done up to this point. This part of the job was a bit more tedious, simply because we had to plan out every step to ensure footprints were not left on the new paint before the clearcoat went down. By mid-evening, she was DONE and looked amazing. We couldn’t believe the transformation. But seeing is believing. Grab a friend and head on down to the museum to take a look yourself.  

This was a HUGE job, and there are so many people that helped to make it happen. Fletcher wants to send a big thank you out to Steve P., Chris B., Tyler D., Jay S., Nate, Mandi R., Bill B., Allen D., Bob D., Grant, Colton, Fred V., Kevin P., Jeff L., Andy S., and anyone else we may have forgot to mention. Thank you SO much to ALL of you. All of these awesome volunteers helped in a variety of ways, and we are so blessed that you lent a hand.

Finally, Fletcher wants to know if you are as excited as he is that we just knocked this project out of the park? If so, PLEASE consider donating to the #9 restoration fund, so that we can continue pushing forward with a full head of steam. As you can see from the pictures, we have a good portion of the locomotive to complete in the next couple of years. We also have outstanding items to clean up from this year, so anything you can help with would be very much appreciated. Please pass the word to friends, community organizations, or any other generous member that might want to help get the D&R #9 restored. 

For a little motivation, Fletcher wanted to tell you about his 4H club; they recently saw some of our family Facebook posts about our work on the #9, and at their next meeting, all the kids took up a vote and approved to help with the restoration at Mid-Continent. This weekend the Orange Mill 4H club will be running their food booth at Hustlerfest in Hustler, WI. They will be donating all tips received towards restoration of the #9.  So that’s pretty cool.   

Our next volunteer session will take place on Saturday 9/14/2024 starting at 10:00 AM. [UPDATE: The volunteer session has been moved to Sunday, September 15, 2024]

 – Jason R.

If you would like to help Fletch and his team continue this project, please click the button below:

Donate Here!