Mid-Continent Railway Museum

The Mid-Continent Railway Museum is a railroad museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin, United States. The museum consists of static displays as well as a 7-mile (11 km) round trip ride aboard preserved railroad cars.
==History==
The rail line used by the Mid-Continent Railway Museum is a spur off the original Chicago and North Western Railway mainline. With the development of the Illinois Iron mine in early 1903, the C&NW sent a team of engineers on July 8, 1903, to survey a route to the iron fields. By August 12, C&NW president Marvin Hughitt had arrived in North Freedom in person to announce that a branchline would be built. A second major mine, the Iroquois Mine (also called the Sauk Mine), was established in October not far from the new rail line. By December 1903, the 3-mile (4.8 km) branchline was completed at a cost of $40,533.
To support the increasing number of miners in the area, a new town called La Rue was platted, named after William G. La Rue. William La Rue was an area mining pioneer who demonstrated that the latest technological advancements in diamond drill technology could make iron mining in the area economically feasible. The town was surveyed and registered in January 1903, but it was soon realized that its location in the southwest corner of the intersection of present-day Highway W and Diamond Hill Road would prove to be too far from where the mines were developing. By November 1903, the development of the town shifted nearer to the Illinois Mine, 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the south at the present day location of La Rue. At the height of iron mining production, the population of La Rue likely did not exceed 50 people, but the town did include a hotel, lumberyard, church, general store, and two saloons to supply and entertain the several hundred miners living nearby. Another townsite named Oliver was platted just east of La Rue, slightly closer to the Oliver Mining Company-owned Iroquois Mine, but no construction ever occurred.
At its peak, the Illinois Mine was shipping between five and 12 train car loads daily over the C&NW branchline, but La Rue's ironing mining days would be numbered. By June 1904, the mines were reaching depths of 400 to 500 feet (120 to 150 m) at which water infiltrating into the mine shafts began being problematic. Costs continued to grow as a result of the water infiltration until finally the Illinois Mine closed in 1908. By this time it was burdened by costs associated with pumping out 2,600 US gallons (9,800 L) of water per minute. A similar fate befell the Iroquois Mine in 1914, at which time it was pumping 4,500 US gallons (17,000 L) per minute from its mine shaft. With the end of iron mining operations, the town of La Rue quickly disappeared. By 1925, only one building remained: the La Rue tavern, which still stands today.
In 2023, the museum hosted a 60th anniversary celebration event on May 27, marking 60 years to the day that the first train pulled passengers along the 7-mile route.
==Locomotive Roster==
;Current Locomotives:
Number	Images 	Heritage 	Type 	Builder 	Built 	Status 	Notes
1385 	 	Chicago and North Western Transportation Company	4-6-0 	American Locomotive Company	1907 	Undergoing operational restoration	It was one of the first locomotives the museum owned, used from 1963 to 1998.
9 	 	Goodman Lumber Co. 	Shay locomotive 	Lima Locomotive Works 	1909 	Static display 	The only Shay locomotive in the museum.
4 	 	U.S. Army Railroad 	GE 45-ton switcher 	General Electric 	1943 	Operational 	
29 	 	Copper Range Railroad 	2-8-0 	American Locomotive Company	1907 	Static display 	This is the only Copper Range locomotive left to be preserved.
7 	 	John Morrell and Company 	ALCO S-1 	American Locomotive Company	1944 	Operational 	
22 	 	Lake Superior & Ishpeming 	2-8-0 	American Locomotive Company	1910 	Static display 	
9 	 	Dardenelle and Russellville Railroad 	2-6-0 	Baldwin Locomotive Works 	1884 	Undergoing cosmetic restoration 	
1256 	 	U.S. Army Railroad 	Baldwin RS-4-TC 	Baldwin Locomotive Works 	1954 	Operational 	It was sold at an auction and donated by the winning bidders to the museum.
2645 	 	Soo Line Railroad 	4-6-0 	Brooks Locomotive Works 	1900 	Static display 	
701 	 	Consumers Company 	0-4-0 	American Locomotive Company	1914 	Awaiting cosmetic restoration 	This was the very first locomotive the museum owned.
49 	 	Kewaunee, Green Bay and Western Railroad 	2-8-0 	American Locomotive Company	1929 	Static display 	The only preserved locomotive from the Kewaunee, Green Bay and Western Railroad.
10 	frameless	Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri Railroad 	EMD NW2 	Electro-Motive Diesel 	1949 	Operational 	It was known as Domtar #1001.
988 	 	Milwaukee Road 	ALCO RSC-2 	American Locomotive Company	1947 	Static display 	
2 	 	Wisconsin Sand and Gravel 	HL-18 	Plymouth Locomotive Works 	1928 	Operational 	
31 	 	Montana Western Railway 	Doodlebug (railcar)	Electro-Motive Corporation 	October 1925 	Undergoing operational restoration	
1 	frameless	Western Coal and Coke 	4-6-0 	Montreal Locomotive Works 	September 1913	Undergoing operational restoration	
3 	frameless	Wisconsin Power and Light Company 	30-ton switcher 	Plymouth Locomotive Works 	1952 	Operational 	
;Former Locomotives:
Number	Images 	Heritage 	Type 	Builder 	Notes
4960 	 	Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad	Steam 	Baldwin Locomotive Works 	Now operational at the Grand Canyon Railway.
2 	 	Polson Logging Co. 	Steam 	Baldwin Locomotive Works 	Under a 15-year overhaul at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center.
9 	 	McCloud Railway 	Steam 	Baldwin Locomotive Works 	Now on static display at the Age of Steam Roundhouse.
401 	frameless	Alabama, Tennessee and Northern 	Steam 	Baldwin Locomotive Works 	Now on static display at the Age of Steam Roundhouse.
29 	 	Lake Superior & Ishpeming 	Steam 	American Locomotive Company 	Undergoing overhaul at the Grand Canyon Railway.
6 	frameless	Central Illinois Public Service Company	Steam 	Vulcan Iron Works 	Awaiting restoration at a Private owner
5 	 	Central Illinois Public Service Company	Steam 	H.K. Porter, Inc. 	Awaiting restoration at the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway.
30 	frameless	Milwaukee Road 	Sedan inspection car	Dodge 	Now on static display at the Illinois Railway Museum
6721 	 	New York Central Railroad 	Steam 	Alco’s Schenectady, NY, works	Now on static display at the Utica Union Station.
440 	 	Union Pacific Railroad 	Steam 	Baldwin Locomotive Works 	Now on static display at the Langlede County Historical Society.
2 	frameless	Louisiana Cypress 	2-6-0 	Lima Locomotive Works 	Private owner
1 	frameless	Warren and Ouachita Valley 	4-6-0 	Baldwin Locomotive Works 	Private owner
=== Visiting Locomotives ===
Photograph	Locomotive 	Build date 	Manufacturer
 	Flagg Coal Company No. 75	December 1930	Vulcan Iron Works
==Trivia==
*In 1959, a group of rail enthusiasts from the Milwaukee area had joined to form the Railroad Historical Society of Milwaukee. With the group's first acquisition of the Consumers Company #701 steam locomotive, the search for a home for their collection began. An agreement was reached with the Hillsboro and Northeastern Railway to operate diesel-powered train rides over their line beginning in 1962 under the name Mid-Continent Railway Museum. When it was learned the North Freedom branchline was available in 1962, the line was quickly purchased and the small collection of cars and locomotives were moved to North Freedom in 1963.
*By the summer of 1963, the move was finished and repairs to steam locomotive CNW 1385 were completed, allowing steam train rides to be offered for the first time that summer.
*Train rides have been offered out of North Freedom by the museum every year since and a small rail yard was gradually built to hold the growing collection of preserved rail equipment.
*In June 2008, the museum grounds were inundated by floodwaters of the Baraboo River. The museum closed for repairs until February 2009. The bridge's out-of-service status did not affect the route used by the museum's train rides, but did prevent the movement of rail cars and locomotives to and from the museum via the national rail network. Repairs to the bridge were completed in July 2018.
*In addition to the depot, other railroad structures moved to the museum's location include a crossing shanty, crossing tower, section shed, and water tower. Additional structures have been built new to house and maintain the collection but attempts were made to make the structures appear period appropriate.
*As the La Rue area iron mining days were ending, the need for quartzite rock was increasing. In 1917, Harbison-Walker Refractories Company established a quarry south of La Rue. The railroad track was extended 0.8 miles (1.3 km) south to serve the quarry. Operations continued until 1962 when the quarry ceased operation. The rail line was slated for abandonment soon after.
Category:United States
Category:Rail museums
Category:Museums
Category:Mid Content Railway Museum Engines