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Mid-Continent Railway Museum

North Freedom, Wis.

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Tag Archives: tender

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C&NW #1385: Tender Cistern Ports – Part 2

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on January 2, 2023 by Jeffrey LentzJanuary 2, 2023

This is an older update that was delayed getting posted online. Thank you for your patience. — The Webmaster

Adding Cistern Piping

In October, volunteers continued working on Chicago & North Western #1385’s tender cistern ports. This included installing bottom fill piping and ports for connecting to a canteen car, otherwise known as an auxiliary tender.

Bottom fill exterior piping.
Bottom fill pipe outlet installed.
Cistern port.

On Mid-Continent’s shortline railway, 1385’s tender has more than enough water capacity to keep 1385 steaming, but a canteen car becomes more important when water sources are harder to come by. Mid-Continent’s canteen car, which offers an additional 12,000 gallons of water capacity, was frequently found trailing 1385’s tender when the locomotive was venturing around the Upper Midwest on mainline excursions. Mid-Continent’s canteen car is currently on display near the museum’s water tower.

C&NW 1385 with canteen car at Butler, Wis. for “Butler Railroad Days” event on June 5, 1983. Jeff Kneipper photo. MCRHS Collection.

Test Filling the Tender

On October 29th, a team of volunteers including Pete Deets, Kyle Gerke, Richard Gruber, and Ed Ripp filled 1385’s tender with water up to its maximum capacity. This was done for testing purposes.

Although the Mid-Continent’s Engine House has a faucet connected to the museum’s groundwater well, that system lacks sufficient capacity to fill a tender in a timely fashion. For a quicker fill time, volunteers utilized a submersible pump that had last been used when steam was in regular service, and pumped the water directly out of the adjacent Baraboo River using a 2-inch hose. The river water contains many impurities and will not be used when running steam in the future, but for doing a test fill of the tender, Baraboo River water would work just fine.

Attached to the hose was a water meter to allow an accurate measurement of the gallons pumped into the tender. While filling the tank, one person watched the water meter and another person was on top of the tender marking a board with measurement lines. This was necessary because 1385’s tender has a new cistern. These measurements will be transcribed to a water level meter used by engine crews in the future.

Water meter
Kyle, kneeling atop the tender, adds water measurement markings to a measuring board.
Draining the tender at the end of testing.

Measurements were also taken of the drawbar pocket and the center of the rear coupler when the tender was empty and again when full. Marks were also made on each truck at the bolster and pedestal jaw at empty, half-full, and full to see how much the springs settled with the differing weights.

During this testing, some additional to-do items were discovered and added to the work list.

Upcoming Work

Volunteers kept busy preparing for and hosting Santa Express in November and December no additional work sessions on the 1385’s tender were held in 2022, but in December the tender was moved inside the Engine House to permit work to continue during the winter months. The first winter work session inside the Engine House is tentatively scheduled for January 7th and 8th. Volunteers may also be working on Western Coal & Coke #1 and performing some general shop cleanup/organization work.

Persons interested in volunteering for this or future volunteer sessions should contact Ed Ripp, General Foreman of Steam Power, or fill out the volunteering inquiry form.

Tagged tender

C&NW #1385: Tender Cistern Ports – Part 1

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on November 8, 2022 by Jeffrey LentzNovember 7, 2022

There was a volunteer work session during the weekend of September 17 and 18, 2022 that focused on the CNW 1385 tender. Work concentrated on closing up the cistern ports. The ports allow water either in or out of the cistern or water tank.

One of the next steps is to fill the tender with water. This will allow project volunteers to see how much the tender settles down on its springs with the added weight of the water as well as to verify the function of the different seals.

Access panels on the sides of the tender allow volunteers to reach some of the harder-to-access cistern valves.

Right side valve access panel closed.
Right side valve access panel open.
Bottom view of the cistern valve well mounting flange.
Inside view of the left side cistern valve well mounting flange.
Inside view of the left side cistern valve well only installed.
Inside view of the cistern valve seat installed.
Bottom view of the right side cistern valve well and valve seat mounted.
Inside view of the right side cistern valve with the operating rod installed.
Top side view of the right side operating handle assembly.
Bottom view of the left side cistern valve well and valve seat mounted.

Thank you to volunteers Lloyd H, Steve P. Sr, Jay S, Ross S, and Larry S for helping out during the work session.

C&NW #1385’s tender has a capacity of 7,500 gallons of water – about the same as an 18 foot diameter swimming pool! When filled, the water will add over 31 tons to the tender’s weight.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this update, coming soon…

Tagged tender

D&R #9 Tender Repainted

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on August 12, 2022 by Jeffrey LentzAugust 9, 2024

July 30 – August 2, 2022; I have no idea who Wayne Dyer is, but he once said “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”  And if you look at the #9 now, this could not be more true.  For four days (Saturday, July 30 to Tuesday, August 2) our hard-working crew transformed the coal tender of the D&R #9 to something that is almost unrecognizable to us younger folk.  But, I have to imagine for those that knew the #9 in its younger years, it will bring back great memories of its heyday.

The work began on Saturday by dragging the tender out of Coach Shed #1.  Once the journal boxes were prepped to keep sand out, the rest of the day was spent blasting the old paint off.  The blasting continued for over 5 hours until the heat became too uncomfortable, and the tender was shoved back into the coach shed to prevent dew from accumulating on the bare metal. 

Sunday saw the completion of sandblasting operations, and once complete, the tender was blown off and shoved back in the coach shed where she was wiped down with a solvent to clean off any impurities. 

Monday saw the first primer and base go on the tender.  The boys worked hard together in a symphony of moving ladders, running supplies, and keeping the paint flowing.  They also worked late, and by 7 pm, they had applied 2 coats of base on almost 80% of the tender, but the intense heat prevented them from completing it.  For a 3rd night, the tender was put away in the coach shed.

Tuesday was the final day of work, and the boys started early to beat the heat.  The tender was rolled out once again, and the last coat of base was applied to the west side of the tender.  With all base coats complete, the crew switched over to the application of a clear coat and had that done in 2 hours.  Once complete, the tender was once again shoved back into the Coach Shed, roped off, and all tools and equipment were picked up.  The crew tied up at 5 pm for the last time on this job.

With the wrap-up on Tuesday evening, the D&R #9 tender has its first coat of fresh/new paint in what we believe to be over 30 years.  And it looks great. With a total of 38 working hours from start to finish, I want to send a heartfelt thank you to the following members for their time and hard work that made this part of our restoration such a huge success: Mike Laabs, Jeff Haertlein, Frank Fisher, John “JT” Titus, his friend Andrew Cervenka, Jay Slinde, Richard Colby, Ed Ripp, Kevin Pickar, Elena Burdick (16 years old), and everyone else that was there to help. A special thanks to Chris Burdick for his time, services, equipment, skill, and materials that were the foundation for getting this job done.  And special thanks to Steve Pahl for leading the way on the ground.  None of this would have been possible without all these amazing volunteers. With that, we will keep charging forward with this restoration.  Thanks for following along, and we are looking forward to our next step.

Jason Reiman, D&R #9 Project Lead

“Before” photo taken in 2021. Jason Reiman photo.
First primer coat begins being applied after sandblasting. August 1, 2022.
Chris Burdick (right) gets ready to begin painting the tender’s fireman side while Steve Pahl, Sr. (center) and Jeff Haertlein (left) mix paint inside Coach Shed #1.
Chris Burdick applies primer to the D&R #9 tender. August 1, 2022.
D&R #9 tender had two coats of primer applied. August 1, 2022.
Chris Burdick begins painting the D&R #9 tender in the first coat of black. August 1, 2022.
Chris Burdick begins painting the D&R #9 tender in the first coat of black. August 1, 2022.
D&R #9 tender. August 2, 2022. Steve Pahl, Sr. photo.
D&R #9 tender. August 2, 2022. Steve Pahl, Sr. photo.
Chris Burdick applies clear coat to the D&R #9 tender repainting. August 2, 2022.
Chris Burdick applies clear coat to the D&R #9 tender. August 2, 2022.
Tagged tender

C&NW #1385: Tender Bearings

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on April 28, 2022 by Jeffrey LentzApril 28, 2022

On April 23, 2022, a team of volunteers consisting of Kyle G., Ross S., Perry A. Richard P., and led by Ed Ripp, Mid-Continent’s newly named General Foreman of Steam Power, worked on jacking up the front of the tender and rolling out the tender’s front truck.  While the truck was out from under the tender, the wheelsets were removed from the truck to facilitate inspection of the roller bearings.

The inspection was necessary due to flooding at Mid-Continent Railway Museum in 2018. The bearings were potentially reached by the floodwaters which could have led to corrosion on the bearing surfaces. To make sure no water damage had occurred, it was necessary to remove the wheelsets to allow for a full, detailed inspection. Fortunately, the inspection of the front truck wheelsets found no evidence of corrosion.

C&NW #1385 tender front truck. April 27, 2022.

The volunteers also made an adjustment to one of the shim plates so the plate will sit correctly against the tender frame.  This work was able to be completed by evening.  

Another volunteer work session will be forthcoming to inspect the roller bearings of the rear truck and possibly start installing fittings on the water ports of the cistern.

Tagged tender

D&R #9 Gets Steam Cleaned

Mid-Continent Railway Museum Posted on August 6, 2021 by Jeffrey LentzAugust 6, 2021

STEAM is rising from the D&R #9 once again!!!. Yes…you read that correctly, steam was seen coming from the #9 during a second volunteer session July 24-25, but this time the steam was produced by J&W Services LLC. Using high-pressure water at temperatures around 250 degrees, the tender and locomotive were thoroughly washed and degreased.

Many thanks to Fletcher Reiman, Jerry Huntington, Steve Pahl, and Frank Fisher for helping to prep the engine on Saturday by wrapping steam lines, removing air hoses, and re-applying grease/oil where necessary. The next volunteer session dates are To Be Determined, as we coordinate with vendor for sandblasting and painting.

Update provided by Jason Reiman.

Prep Work

  • Preparing the D&R #9 for pressure washing.
  • Pre-pressure washing prep work to protect some parts of the locomotive.

Pressure Washing

  • Equipment for the day’s pressure washing.
  • Pressure washing the D&R #9 with steam.
  • The crew from J&W Services pressure wash the D&R #9 with steam.

The Results

  • Tender trucks after steam pressure wash
  • Some bare metal exposed on D&R #9’s tender tank after receiving steam pressure wash.
  • D&R #9 after steam pressure wash.
  • D&R #9 driver after steam pressure wash.
  • D&R #9 driver after steam pressure wash.
Tagged boiler, tender, wheels

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Recent News

  • “Last Spike” Ceremony
  • Engine House Track #2 Update
  • 1385 Steam and Air Line Installation/Donation Update
  • #1385 Cab, Smoke Stack, and Hand Rail Installation/Donation Update
  • Your Help is Needed to Bring the C&NW #1385 Home Again!
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