Chicago and North Western 1385

Chicago and North Western 1385 is an R-1 class 4-6-0 "ten-wheeler" steam locomotive owned by the Mid-Continent Railway Museum (MCRM). Built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in March 1907, the locomotive was one of 325 R-1s to be built for the Chicago and North Western Railroad (C&NW) throughout the 1900s. No. 1385 was mainly used to pull the C&NW's freight trains until 1956, when it was retired from revenue service.

In 1961, the original members of the MCRM purchased No. 1385 for $2,600 scrap value, and the locomotive was moved to the museum's original location in Hillsboro, Wisconsin. In 1963, No. 1385 was moved again to the MCRM's current location in North Freedom, Wisconsin, and the R-1 locomotive began pulling tourist trains between North Freedom, and the end of the MCRM's line in Rattlesnake. In 1981, the C&NW was exploring public relations options before they reached an agreement with the MCRM to lease No. 1385 for their steam program.

The first train of the program, which was a promotion of the C&NW's rolling stock upgrades, took place in May 1982. From 1985 to 1987, No. 1385 pulled the Circus World Museum (CWM) train between Baraboo and Milwaukee, for the annual circus parade events. In 1986, the C&NW's steam program was discontinued, due to liability insurance issues and a change of leadership. No. 1385 continued to run on MCRM's trackage, and it also pulled some mainline excursion trains on other nearby railroads, such as the Wisconsin and Southern (WSOR).

In 1998, No. 1385 was removed from service, since it was due for boiler and running gear repairs. Repairs were subsequently halted, due to a lack of funding, and No. 1385 was stored while the MCRM focused on other priorities. In 2011, the MCRM began to perform a complete rebuild on No. 1385, using a portion of a matching grant the museum received. SPEC Machine was hired to perform most of the repairs on the locomotive. As of 2024, No. 1385’s rebuild is still ongoing.

Design and abilities
Throughout the 1890s, the Chicago and North Western Railroad (C&NW) experimented with different firebox designs to upgrade their steam locomotive roster. In 1899, it created a new boiler design with a 56 in firebox that would sit above the rear driving wheels and a working pressure of 200 psi. After testing the new boiler on its D Class 4-4-2 "Atlantics", the following year, the C&NW designed the R-1 class 4-6-0 "ten-wheeler" locomotive; it would be equipped with 63 in diameter driving wheels and 21x26 in cylinders, and it would be capable of producing a tractive effort of 30,900 lbf.

While the R-1s were being developed, freight and passenger traffic began to constantly grow on various railroads, including the C&NW. Beginning in 1901, the C&NW ordered and received the first R-1 locomotives from the American Locomotive Company's (ALCO) Schenectady works and the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The first R-1s were originally built with cast iron materials, Stephenson valve gear motion with four-bar crosshead guides, and a small tender capacity of 5,400 U.S.gal of water and 9 tonnes of coal. They were so large and heavy that their route availabilities were drastically limited; the C&NW had to restructure all of their rail lines, bridges, and roundhouse stalls to accommodate them. The restructuring process was completed, in 1939.

In 1902, the R-1 design was upgraded with steel materials and alligator crosshead guides, and the changes were applied to all R-1s built afterward. In 1905, the tender design was also upgraded to carry 7,500 U.S.gal of water and 10 tonnes of coal. The final major modification applied to the R-1s during their construction was the application of Walschaerts valve gear; 40 of the final 65 locomotives built in 1907 and 1908 would be applied with Walschaerts, instead of Stephenson. After the final orders were completed in 1908, the C&NW had rostered 325 R-1s, making them the most manufactured class of steam locomotives on the railroad.

The large size and tractive effort of the R-1s made them the most powerful locomotives on the railroad until the introduction of the Z Class 2-8-0 s in 1909. The R-1s were originally used as dual-service locomotives, being assigned to pull mainline passenger and freight trains in Wisconsin. After 1920, the R-1s were mostly relegated to branch line and switching services. Some of them were modified with steam heating equipment to continue pulling passenger trains, including the connecting section of the Flambeau 400 and the C&NW's commuter services around Chicago.

Revenue service
No. 1385 was one of twenty-five R-1s to be built by ALCO in March 1907—the first of four batches of R-1s to be built throughout that year. The locomotive was mostly assigned by the C&NW to work within the Lake Shore Division, which consisted of routes that led to iron ore mines in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In March 1931, No. 1385 was sent to Ashland, Wisconsin, to be rebuilt with a superheater; a modification that the C&NW had applied to all of the R-1s, since 1915. No. 1385's last commercial assignment on the railroad was to serve as a yard switcher at Iron Mountain, Michigan, before it was taken out of service, in 1956, when the C&NW completely dieselized their locomotive roster.

Since it still had serviceable flues in its boiler, No. 1385 was towed to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where it was used as a stationary boiler at a C&NW-owned freight house. In early 1959, the R-1 was towed again to Escanaba, where its boiler was used to thaw frozen iron ore. No. 1385 was also retained as a backup for steam heating passenger trains. By 1961, with the C&NW acquiring electric generator cars, No. 1385's steam heating capabilities were deemed obsolete. By that time, No. 1385 was one of only two R-1 locomotives remaining under C&NW's possession, with the other being No. 175, and the company wanted to sell them both off.

Early preservation years
In 1960, members of the Railway Historical Society of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, entered negotiations with the C&NW about acquiring one of the two R-1s. The Historical Society decided that buying the still-operable No. 1385 locomotive was the better deal, since the railroad offered to sell it for its scrap value of $2,600, and they asked for more money for No. 175. To raise funds, the Society formed the Enginemen's Operating Club; each member would be asked to loan $100 to the society for two years, and any contributor would be rewarded with access to No. 1385.

Twenty-nine members contributed to the Historical Society's needs, and they purchased No. 1385 from the C&NW, on November 24, 1961. During the purchase, the Historical Society reached an agreement with the Hillsboro and Northeastern Railway (H&NE) to have their collection relocated to Hillsboro, and the group changed its name to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum (MCRM). In early 1962, No. 1385 was moved from Escanaba to Hillsboro, and it was repainted for display. On May 26, the museum hosted its grand opening ceremony, and a celebration train operated between Hillsboro and the C&NW-H&NE interchange at Union Center.

No. 1385 was scheduled to pull the celebration train, but shortly beforehand, inspectors from the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) had ruled the R-1 would be unsafe to run unless necessary repairs were made, so it was left on display while an H&NE diesel locomotive had to pull the train. By the end of 1962, the MCRM decided to relocate their collection again. Simultaneously, the C&NW obtained permission to abandon their Rattlesnake Line, a 4.2 mi branch line that lies between North Freedom and a quartzite quarry near Rattlesnake. The MCRM bought the Rattlesnake Line from the railroad, on May 17, 1963, and after the museum made some minor repairs on No. 1385, the locomotive began operating for their first excursion season on the branch, on May 27.

By the end of 1963, No. 1385 began experiencing boiler problems, so it was removed from service while the MCRM's trains continued to be hauled by other locomotives. In the early 1970s, work began to return the R-1 to active service. During the process, No. 1385's original tender, which held a capacity of 7,500 U.S.gal of water and 10 tonnes of coal, was found to be in poor condition, so the MCRM searched for a replacement. In 1972, the museum purchased a smaller tender (No. X-263579) from the C&NW; it had been paired with an older R-1, holding a capacity of 5,400 U.S.gal of water and 9 tonnes of coal.

No. 1385 returned to service for the MCRM, on July 29, 1973, and it would be paired with the smaller tender for the next several years. A decision was also made to reduce the R-1's boiler pressure from 200 psi to 150 psi, for the tourist operations. As the museum acquired and leased other steam locomotives, including Dardanelle and Russellville No. 9 and Western Coal and Coke No. 1, No. 1385 would swap places with them, as it rotated in and out of service.

Chicago and North Western steam program
By July 1981, following the start of the early 1980s recession and the bankruptcy of the Milwaukee Road, the public opinion of railroads around the Milwaukee area soured, and C&NW management explored ways to publicize their company's healthy operations. Chris Burger, the manager of the C&NW's Wisconsin Division, proposed an idea of a steam program to James A. Zito, the railroad's vice president of operations, and James R. Wolfe, the railroad's president. Burger felt No. 1385 would be the ideal locomotive for the program. While Wolfe envisioned the benefits, he felt the company couldn't afford to host a full-blown program with the ongoing recession. Burger then proposed a limited operation on the Wisconsin Division, during the 1982 National Transportation Week, which Zito and Wolfe approved.

Burger approached the MCRM's board of directors about the C&NW leasing No. 1385 for the event, and he requested the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to inspect the R-1 for eligibility to operate on the mainline. The MCRM board approved the lease, and the FRA gave their approval, but they stated that the running gear needed repairs, first. Since such repairs required a drop pit, Burger contacted the C&NW's repair facility in Green Bay, where railroaders with steam experience—including motive power foreman Al Kawalek—were still employed. To prepare No. 1385 for long distance operations, MCRM crews extended the coal boards on the tender for extra coal capacity, they paired the locomotive with a Milwaukee Road auxiliary car for extra water capacity, and they installed a multiple-unit device to control diesel locomotives.

The R-1 left North Freedom for a two-day run to Green Bay, on April 9, 1982, and the journey was unannounced to avoid attracting public attention. After it arrived in Green Bay, Kawalek's volunteer crews used a drop pit to remove the driving wheels and axle boxes from the locomotive for reworking, and they made minor repairs to the tender. On May 11, No. 1385 performed a test run northward to Oconto, where it subsequently met a southbound C&NW inspection train, led by EMD F7 diesels and hosted by the railroad's Vice President of Transportation, Edward Burkhardt. Upon arrival in Oconto, the F7s broke down, and Burger arranged to have No. 1385 take the inspection train to Green Bay, with Burkhardt sitting behind the throttle.

On May 15, the 1982 National Transportation Week began, and No. 1385 was displayed with the Prosperity Special train in Green Bay, for the Chicago and North Western Historical Society (C&NWHS) convention. The train, consisting of an EMD GP50 diesel, six modern freight cars, a caboose, and two business cars, was created as a public message that the railroad was investing in new equipment, despite the ongoing recession. On May 16, No. 1385 pulled the Prosperity Special from Green Bay to Milwaukee, but en route, No. 1385 briefly stalled from the multiple-unit device controlling the GP50. After being displayed at Butler Yard in the Milwaukee area, the Prosperity Special traveled to Chicago, Janesville, and Madison, for additional display stops, before the operation ended in North Freedom, on May 25.

Following the success of the Prosperity Special, and upon request of C&NW Iowa Division manager George Maybee, No. 1385 pulled some public excursions out of Boone, and over the Kate Shelley High Bridge, during the annual Pufferbilly Days event, in September; it was coupled to two C&NW F7s and three bilevel passenger cars on loan from Metra. Following the Pufferbilly Days event, Wolfe and other C&NW management approved to launch a full-blown steam program, with Burkhardt providing financial support for it. On December 17, the C&NW signed an agreement with the MCRM to lease No. 1385 for the next four years.

After traveling from Boone to Chicago, for display at Madison Street Station, No. 1385 was returned to Green Bay, to undergo an FRA-mandated overhaul. Kawalek's volunteer crews removed the tubes and piping from the boiler, but due to a lack of available replacement tubes, No. 1385 was shipped, on December 13, to the Milwaukee Boiler Manufacturing Company. In Milwaukee, crews replaced part of the rear tube sheet and placed a patch on the boiler. In early May 1983, the R-1 was returned to Green Bay for reassembly, and on May 30, No. 1385 traveled to Butler Yard. In Butler, Chamber of Commerce President Jerry Hilton arranged for the locomotive to pull Butler 400 excursion trips for the Butler Railroad Days event, and No. 1385 carried over 4,500 passengers, during the occasion.

In the ensuing years, the C&NW would help groups raise funds by making No. 1385-led trips available for them to sponsor. No. 1385 would travel across other portions of the railroad's network, traveling as far west as Council Bluffs, Iowa, as far south as Des Moines, and as far north as Duluth, Minnesota, and Escanaba. The locomotive also ran along routes in Iowa the C&NW had acquired from other companies, such as the Chicago Great Western (CGW), the Minneapolis and St. Louis (M&StL), and the Rock Island (RI). With C&NW trackage rights, the locomotive traveled on the Milwaukee Road to Winona, and the Burlington Northern (BN) to Superior.

In 1985, following a twelve-year hiatus, the Circus World Museum (CWM) of Baraboo, Wisconsin, hosted the annual circus parade in Milwaukee, and No. 1385 was arranged to lead the CWM's Great Circus Train on the C&NW main line, on July 10. For 1986, the C&NW created a full schedule of trains for No. 1385 to pull, including some fundraising trips for the MCRM. That same year, an insurance crisis broke out within the railroad industry, causing premium prices to rise up, and most of C&NW's scheduled 1986 trips had to be cancelled. No. 1385 only led three trains that year; a C&NW employee open house in May, that year's Great Circus Train on July 8, and the Pufferbilly Days special in September.

While the MCRM continued to keep No. 1385 in working order, the insurance crisis caused the C&NW to undergo several changes; routes continued to be abandoned and sold off, divisions were consolidated, and employees were laid off. The C&NW's management also changed after 1986; Wolfe died of cancer, Zito retired from the railroad, Burger left to work for Central Vermont (CV), and Burkhardt left to create Wisconsin Central (WC). Newer management of the railroad had no interest in hosting steam operations.

Final years of 20th-century operations
With No. 1385 without a host, but still FRA-certified for mainline service, the MCRM looked into running the R-1 on other railroads while helping communities that still wanted to sponsor steam excursions. On July 7, 1987, No. 1385 was tasked to lead that year's Great Circus Train, but as it began to depart Baraboo, the R-1 suffered a superheater failure and sputtered. While the train moved on behind an EMD SD60 diesel, No. 1385 was returned to the MCRM, where the failure was traced to a faulty bolt, and the entire superheater was repaired by volunteers in twelve hours. The repairs were documented by a television crew from Milwaukee.

At midnight, No. 1385 was towed to Janesville to catch up with the CWM train, and the train arrived in Milwaukee, on schedule. After the event, No. 1385 ran to Chicago, for display at Madison Street Station, during the sesquicentennial of the city. On October 11, as part of MCRM's annual Fall Color Weekend event, No. 1385 was paired with C&NW EMD GP7 No. 1518, which was borrowed from the Illinois Railway Museum for the occasion. In late October and early November, No. 1385 pulled three weekend excursions on the Wisconsin and Calumet (WICT), and the trips were sponsored by the Broadhead Historical Society, Jaycees, and Lions Club. During that time, on November 4, the WICT borrowed No. 1385 to assist GP7 No. 616 in pulling a grain train from Waukesha to McFarland. After returning to North Freedom, the R-1 underwent some major boiler repairs, and a new smokebox was fabricated. No. 1385 subsequently returned to WICT to pull yearly fall excursions on the railroad, in 1988, 1989, and 1990. On March 10, 1989, No. 1385 was redecorated to pull a recreation of the Abraham Lincoln Funeral train on the Chicago-Chemung Railroad, between Harvard and Chemung, Illinois, and it was filmed for a television commercial for the Illinois Department of Tourism. Throughout 1991, the R-1 remained in North Freedom to receive additional boiler repairs; scale was cleaned out, and old boiler tubes were replaced.

In June and July 1992, the MCRM operated No. 1385 on a 1,000 mi tour over the Wisconsin and Southern (WSOR) and the WC. On the WSOR, No. 1385 pulled freight trains between Horicon, Cambria, and Oshkosh, and on the WC, it pulled public excursions between Wausau and Merrill. During the Fourth of July weekend, the locomotive pulled excursions on the WSOR from Horicon to Brown Deer, in the Milwaukee area. After having carried over 8,600 passengers on the WSOR and WC, No. 1385 returned to North Freedom, on July 6, and an ALCO C415 locomotive was in tow for donation to the MCRM.

In July 1993, during that year's National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) Convention, No. 1385 was scheduled to pull a Mid-Continent 400 excursion to LaSalle Street Station in Chicago, where passengers were to be transferred from a Metra train to the excursion for a ride on the WSOR to Janesville. That year's Great Flood landlocked the MCRM, as their interchange with the C&NW at North Freedom was flooded by heavy rain. As a result, convention officials cancelled the Mid-Continent 400 trip, and No. 1385 was used to move ballast cars.

In 1994, after No. 1385 pulled the MCRM's annual Snow Train, it was discovered that the locomotive's left front driving wheel had slightly moved inward on its axle. Consequently, No. 1385's driving wheels all had to be removed to undergo repairs. The wheels were shipped to Norfolk Southern's shop complex in Birmingham, Alabama, where many cracks were discovered under the layers of black paint, so they had to be throughly rewelded. Repairs on the running gear took over 1,000 hours of volunteer labor and cost $60,000 to complete. By September 12, the wheels were returned to North Freedom, and reinstalled on the R-1, and No. 1385 returned to service again, on October 2.

That same day, the locomotive was repainted as Delaware, Lackawanna and Western (DLW) No. 1053 to be filmed with the museum's authentic DLW passenger cars for Steam and Steel—a documentary film that was scheduled to be shown at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1995, the C&NWHS hosted their annual meeting at the MCRM, with No. 1385 performing some photo runbys for the event. By 1997, No. 1385 was close to being due for additional boiler and firebox repairs, and since the R-1 and Saginaw Timber No. 2 were the only operational steam locomotives at the MCRM, the museum launched the Help Steam Live fundraising campaign. On June 30, 1998, No. 1385 was removed from service to undergo the required repairs.

21st-century hiatus and renovation
On May 18, 2000, No. 1385 became listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Without an operable steam locomotive, yearly visitor attendance at the MCRM plummeted, so museum officials planned to revive steam operations to lure visitors back. They initially estimated that boiler repairs on No. 1385 would cost $125,000 to complete, but a closer inspection revealed that the locomotive would require a complete $750,000 rebuild to operate again, and it was discovered that No. 1385's boiler was corroded beyond repair. The project was subsequently stalled by varying challenges, including the Great Recession, and a 2008 flood that damaged the museum's property, and the R-1 was stored on a siding, for the time being.

In 2011, Wag-Aero co-founders Dick and Bobbie Wagner arranged for the Wagner Foundation to donate a $250,000 matching grant to the MCRM, and they promised to help further fund No. 1385's rebuild. It was reestimated that the project would cost $2 million to complete, making it the most expensive restoration project in MCRM's history. The museum contracted SPEC Machine to help restore the No. 1385, and after the locomotive was disassembled, the frame and running gear were shipped to SPEC's rural machine shop in Middleton. Afterward, the frame of the front pilot truck was replaced, and the driving wheels were sent to the Strasburg Rail Road's restoration shop in Pennsylvania, to be repaired, before returning to Middleton.

Progress on the project required some tools to be custom made, and several old photos, books, encyclopedias, and blueprints were used as references. No. 1385's wooden cab was sent to Fond du Lac, where it served as a model for a replacement to be built. In 2016, construction on a new welded boiler for the R-1 began by Continental Fabricators in St. Louis. In 2017, the frame and running gear were moved from SPEC's machine shop and into a larger adjacent building, which was built specifically to house No. 1385 for the remainder of its rebuild.

In September 2019, the new boiler was moved to Middleton and fitted onto the frame. Following the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, work on the locomotive continued at a slower pace, but SPEC owner Steve Roudebush set the project as a high priority.