What a difference a year makes: Chicago & North Western 1385

Chicago & North Western 4-6-0 No. 1385's front truck was on display for the open house at SPEC Machine on Feb. 21. Jim Wrinn photo.

C&NW 1385's 63-inch wheelsets gleam with new tires. Jim Wrinn photo.

C&NW 1385's rebuilt frame has been primed and painted at SPEC Machine. Jim Wrinn photo.

Mid-Continent hosted the open house at SPEC Machine in Middleton, Wis., a shop located northwest of Madison in about the most unlikely place you’d expect to find a 108-year-old steam locomotive under repair: In the middle of cornfields and dairy farms. I was impressed with the progress the group has made since the last open house precisely a year ago.

Last year, the wheelsets were sitting on the shop floor, awaiting a trip to a repair shop and a decision whether to install new tries or to go with the old ones. The frame had yet to be touched. This year, the frame has been rebuilt and is ready for the installation of the drivers, which had been sent to Strasburg Rail Road for repairs that included new crank pins and new tires. The old tires might have been good for a few years of service, but the group did the right thing and decided to take care of that now while the engine is apart. The frame, I was told, is ready to go with the exception of boring the cylinders. The front truck -- the “4” in 4-6-0 – was outside, ready for repairs to begin. The cab has yet to be reconstructed, but some gentlemen were showing the cab framing off Saturday when I was there.

C&NW 1385's 63-inch wheelsets gleam with new tires. Jim Wrinn photo.[/caption]Project Manager Mike Wahl is looking forward to the construction of the replacement boiler, a major step that he hopes will begin this year. Mike was mingling with the crowd and talking up the project. Because there was a train show in nearby Madison, there was a good crowd Saturday morning when I visited, and I suspect the museum had another good crowd Sunday.

I liken this weekend’s open house to the Major League Baseball practice of having “warm stove” gatherings in the winter to talk up the coming season with the fans. Such open houses are a great way to stay in touch with supporters and potential supporters, and I hope that other groups will do them when they’re restoring a locomotive over several years.  And here’s to seeing 1385 under steam once more.