ABOVE: The Great Lakes Trader has just finished loading at the old Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range docks in Duluth as Milwaukee 261 steams past, headed for the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. JEFF TERRY PHOTO
in August 2011. Tramming of the drive rods, as well as the manufacture of new rod brasses, was handled by a machine shop in Ramsey, Minn.
By December 2011 all major wheel
work had been completed and repairs to the spring rigging had been finished, and the engine was lowered back onto its drivers on a chilly winter day. Work then shifted to No. 261’s 277,000 pound boiler, which was given an ultrasound inspection for defects before being sandblasted and painted. Numerous stay bolts were repaired or replaced, and new tubes and flues — some nine tons worth — were imported from Ger- many and installed in the spring of 2012. A hydrostatic test on July 26, 2012, revealed no leaks and paved the way for a test fire two months later on September 29, which also served to try- out the various rebuilt appliances and set the safety valves. That evening 261 steamed back and forth on the shop lead for the first time in four years be- fore being put back into the shop for fi- nal adjustments.
Over the winter of 2012-’13 volun- teers completed the installation of 261’s boiler jacketing and finished up other minor projects. A test run was set for April 13 but had to be scrapped when the host railroad (Twin Cities & Western) couldn’t fit 261 into the mix on its busy main line. The following weekend 261 steamed from Minneapo- lis to Glencoe on TC&W’s ex-Milwau- kee Road line with a short test train. After five long years the 261 was back. RHMA’s Steve Sandberg says that today the 261 is “in the best shape that it’s been in” since leaving Alco in 1944. The restoration included several im-
provements including a redesigned ash pan that will allow for quicker cleaning and maintenance; an LED lighting sys- tem hidden inside the frame to aid in inspections; and an diesel m.u. stand inside the cab that allows 261’s engi- neer to control a diesel helper in the consist. There is one subtle — but no- ticeable — cosmetic change: 261’s smokebox Mars light has been re- moved, returning the 4-8-4 to its early- 1950s appearance. “It was time for a different look,” Sandberg says. RMHA also has a rounded smokebox door – nearly identical to the style that 261 was delivered with before the current flat-front smokebox was installed in the late 1940s — and eventually the en- gine may be returned to an even earlier historical appearance. It was announced in early January 2013 that 261’s first public excursion after the rebuild would be a Minneapo- lis-Duluth trip on the BNSF’s ex-Great Northern Hinckley Subdivision, over which the locomotive has traveled nu- merous times during its excursion ca- reer. As a testament to the popularity of the 261, the trip’s 500 seats sold out in just over a month and additional full-length dome cars had to be leased from Iowa Pacific in order to meet the demand for additional seating. On May 10, 2013, the day before the excursion, Steve Sandberg and his wife Megan christened 261 with water tak- en from Minnehaha Falls in Minneapo- lis, a tradition that the Milwaukee Road performed every time a new Hi- awatha was put into service. At 9:00 a.m. the following morning
261 whistled off and steamed out of Minneapolis Junction with a 14 car ex-
cursion consist. Bringing up the rear was RHMA’s classic Milwaukee Road Skytop lounge observation Cedar Rapids. Amtrak P42 17 came along for the ride primarily to provide head end power and dynamic braking. Arrival in Duluth, originally sched- uled for 3:00 p.m., was delayed by freight
with a pulled drawbar at
Grasston. Because of this the 261 didn’t steam across the Grassy Point Draw linking Superior and Duluth until after 4:00, weaving its way towards the mu- seum — located in the former Duluth Union Depot — over BNSF trackage that hasn’t seen regular passenger service since the 1980s. Waiting to greet the train at the station was Soo 2719, BNSF SD70ACe 9127 (on loan for National Train Day) and a crowd of several thousand fans and well wish- ers. A night photo session, organized by Steve Glischinski, was held later that evening in Duluth with both steam lo- comotives; lighting was provided by photographers Chris Guss and Craig Williams.
The next day, May 12, the 261 de- parted from the museum solo and was wyed at Mike’s Yard in Duluth before being reunited with the rest of the ex- cursion consist in Superior (turned the night before) for the return trip to Min- neapolis. Arrival in the Twin Cities was in the late afternoon, capping a very successful return to service for the Mid- west’s favorite 4-8-4 (the trip was rated a “9 out of 10” according to Sandberg). More trips are in the planning stages; watch R&R for more informa- tion or visit RHMA’s web site at
www.261.com for details as they be- come available.
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