Category Archives: Railroad Museums

Marklin 88001: Museum Edition Class 80 Steam Locomotive

The recent release 88001 steam locomotive continues Marklin’s limited release Museum locomotive series this time based on the class 80 steam locomotive in Bochum-Dahlhausen Museum’s collection.

Housed in a wooden box the locomotive comes with a numbered certificate with stated limitation of 499. Locomotive features photo-grey paint scheme with operating number 80 030.

The class 80 locomotive is a tank locomotive: coal bunker is behind the cab with water tanks welded to the sides. The model features the new generation brush-less motor and finely detailed running gear. Locomotive features metal construction with fine detailing, glazed cab windows and LED lights.

Marklin 88001 leading train of 8661 cars variously lettered SMI’s

Built in the late 1920’s for switching/shunting work, class 80 030 was built by Hohenzollern, its service life extended nearly 50 years retiring as an industrial switcher for the coal mining industry.

Marklin 88001, Marklin 8661 SMI cars variously lettered, and Archistories “Makeshift Yard Tower (111181)”

Marklin 88001 leading train of Marklin SMI 8661 car types produced in 1996

Excursion: The Milwaukee Road Heritage Center

The Milwaukee Road Heritage Center in Montevideo, MN is a railroad museum dedicated to the history and preservation of the The Milwaukee Road:

https://www.montevideomrhc.org/about.php

My Wife and I passed through Montevideo about 5 years ago which was our first visit in the yard of the Heritage Center. No fence or people were present on that visit, it largely looked abandoned, our guess for many of years? But we were drawn to the site after seeing the dome ends of two Hiawatha sky-top coaches or should I more aptly describe as the barebones framework of the signature sky-top cars unmistakable from Montevideo’s main street.

Just this August we were in the neighborhood and decided to stop; we hoped to see if any progress was made in the 5 years since the last visit. This time we were greeted by the friendly and knowledgeable Director of the Heritage Center who also gave us a complete tour of the site lasting 3 hours: what a treat! And boy oh’boy what a difference 5 years has made to this unique railroad museum with a growing and already impressive collection of coaches, MOW vehicles, locomotive switcher, turntable, station, loco shed, sanding facility, and museum quality working HO layout which displays the working yards of Montevideo in the glory years of The Milwaukee Road.

Max Hinde, Director of the Milwaukee Road Heritage Center stands adjacent to the train station in Montevideo, Minnesota. Housed in the station is a very large collection of Milwaukee Road artifacts, photographs, and station masters’ office complemented with all the essential equipment. Max is ‘tops’ in my book for remarkable practical expertise with all the railroad equipment and historical knowledge.

Not much progress has been made with the sky-top domes, the museum is currently looking for a qualified welder: the plan includes modifying a coach in the collection. ‘Wishful thinking’ are not words that apply to this museum which boasts 160 volunteers who are passionate railroad people with the grit and sound judgement that is already on display.

A beautifully restored sanding facility (sand house) furnished with every essential tool for locomotive maintenance sits track-side. An Eagle Scout earned his certification roofing the sanding facility which sits in its original location down track from the working turntable.

An impressive locomotive shed is home to a working switch engine retired from refinery work along with a very interesting MOW crane. Note: large chest below headlamp on loco is not a toolbox, it is the cabinet housing for the sand cylinders.

The cab of the diesel switcher is impressive as a static piece of industrial equipment, but our guide offered to start it up which further impressed the heck out of me. Nothing better than the sound of a diesel locomotive coming to life. Doubly impressive that our guide effortlessly cold started this large diesel locomotive.

The Milwaukee Road used MOW vehicles as do all railroads here are two interesting examples:

Speeder used to haul men and tools when coupled with a trailer, it was propelled by a simple gas engine seen here in its own shed at the Heritage Center:

Another MOW vehicle was a tractor equipped with rail traction and coupler: soft rubber tires carry the vehicle over the tracks, rail wheels align with rails, operator engages hydraulics to slowly lay the rail wheels in place on the tracks, rail car couples with tractor thus making simple switching functions in the yard possible. The tractor was limited to sideways movement on the rails, it is a unique and interesting piece of railroad history.

Note: sand cylinders and coupler with lower piston to adjust height

360,000 pounds of heavy duty machinery, this rail crane boasts two engines: one for the wench and one for the swiveling deck, it is also one big crane that is capable of lifting a locomotive off its trucks. Pictured on the deck of the behemoth crane car is a thick heavy cast steel yoke used to fasten either side of a locomotive shell for lifting and/or righting a locomotive after derailment. This too is operational although it was not running during our visit.

Two interesting original Milwaukee Road cabooses include the standard bay window design used by numerous North American railroads, but a big difference applies to the two in the Heritage Center collection. On the left can be seen the standard design caboose mounted to a very long deck matching the overall length of coal cars used by The Milwaukee Road.

Bright paint and lettering adorn the exterior of the 01960 caboose while inside the caboose shows its original charm and splendor in you are tough as nails, sport steel toed work boots, overalls with plenty of mends and grease. Otherwise these cabooses were full of hard steel edges and no much in the way of ‘comforts of home,’ but railroad people are durable to machine and weather visiting these rare cabooses gives a window of working life of the end car.

The original turntable is fully operational with a few coaches alongside, a recent newsletter comments on the feasibility of rebuilding the roundhouse, it will be a fascinating addition to this impressive museum.

Membership is reasonably priced at $25/year: http://www.montevideomrhc.org/membership.html

Address: Milwaukee Road Heritage Center-Milwaukee Road Depot, 301 State Road – Suite 1, Montevideo, MN 56265

Lastly: I briefly mentioned the HO scale model railroad earlier in this post, but it too deserves a few words as it encapsulates the history of Milwaukee Road railroading in Montevideo, MN which was an important layover for cattle coming from the Dakotas and heading to Chicago. Several digitally operated F7’s make their way along a very large layout with many scratch built structures and scenery plus custom painted mural surround.

Siding: the locomotive axle bearings were greased with packing within a hinged covered box referred to as a journal box

upgraded Timken bearings can be seen on the 360,000 pound crane which does away with the journal box

Excursion: Great Northern and Cascade Railway

A few hours drive from Seattle to Spokane in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state is a small railway for railroad enthusiasts, it circles the station at Skykomish and offers free rides to all who climb aboard: all day long!

The small railroad encompasses a complex design featuring a snow tunnel, masonry tunnel, and bridge. Along the route the train embarks on a well landscaped trip with the Cascade Mountains naturally framing the town of Skykomish, WA.

Sixty volunteers donated their time and energy to lay the extensive track work 5 years ago whose organization owns a couple of locos and ride on cars. A surprisingly fun ride that includes two separate loops around the station and outer perimeter of the property, it even includes a very nice locomotive shed.

Inside the station visitors can enjoy displays of early Great Northern Railway artifacts, its porch serves as a very good viewing platform of the active BNSF mainline.

The most Northerly Transcontinental Railway line in the United States the Great Northern Railways connected St. Paul, MN and Seattle, WA until 1970. The natural landscape in this part of the United States is spectacular with many train sightings possible as BNSF operates long trains of mixed freight and unit trains of lumber, mineral, and petroleum. The drive alone is a recommended spectacle, and railroading history is an added bonus.

Siding: a very rare small crane for moving blocks of ice is part of the collection of the Great Northern and Cascade Railway

Excursion: California State Railroad Museum

A railroad museum of particular interest to railroaders of all ages is this one in Sacramento, CA: California State Railroad Museum: https://www.californiarailroad.museum/

Located in Sacramento the museum is situated in what is called Sacramento’s Old Historic District alongside several blocks of rebuilt historic merchant and railway buildings.

A day long adventure with 2-4 hours in the railroad museum alone. Very friendly museum staff and guides describe the history of early railroading in CA and the West.

The museum’s exhibits are on par with other well regarded museums: large ambitious dioramas and restored trains.

photos (above and below): Built in 1862 (Philadelphia) and in service November 1863 (Sacramento) Central Pacific Railroad No.1.

photo (below): Virginia & Truckee Railroad No. 12 Genoa, Baldwin, Philadelphia 1873

photos (2 above/2 below): North Pacific Coast Railroad No. 12 Sonoma, Baldwin, Philadelphia 1876

photo (below): Virginia & Truckee Railroad No. 13 Empire, Baldwin, Philadelphia 1873

The train collection is rather small in comparison to other railroad museums most notably the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, but it is very strong on what it has including the final steam locomotive purchased by Southern Pacific: 4294 cab forward locomotive with tender. I was in awe of this loco for its sheer mass and size, and several groups in the museum at the time were in awe too! It should be noted that not all locomotives are on display at any one time, it is notable that the collection owns 8 of the surviving 45 full size steam locomotives built prior to 1880.

Southern Pacific 4294 cab forward steam locomotive built by Baldwin 1944, it featured oil fired tender with a combined weight of a million pounds.

Displaying fine early and rare steam locomotives is one facet of the displays in the museum which also includes a Santa Fe F7 and a display model modern aerodynamic electric by Siemens.

For toy train collectors there is a display including a few Marklin gauge 1 examples and Lionel Standard Gauge trains, I did not have the time this trip to tour this part of the collection, but I understand it is very good!

Along a wall on the way to the exhibit hall is an early railway regulator built by Seth Thomas in pristine condition and lettered for the Santa Fe railroad, it is perhaps the finest American railway regulator I have ever seen. Keeping trains on time and schedules tracked was helped by precision eight-day regulator clocks such as this fine example that incorporated a mercury pendulum which compensated for changes in ambient temperature.

Sometimes museum displays can go off the rails and detract from the historical importance of that which is exhibited, but in the case of the late 1920’s CN sleeper coach featuring moving train simulation it is WOW! Utilizing dim original lighting fixtures this coach from the ‘heavy weight’ era is fully furnished with original folding seats and bunks found in Pullmans of this era. The periodic flashing strobe light in the darkened windows give that passing scenery affect fully accentuated by the gentle rocking of the entire coach car, one has the going back in time feeling (sorry for cliche).

The AT & SF Super Chief Cochiti dining coach starts with a tour of the large kitchen followed by the dining room set up with tables dressed with china sets from various railroads: a great collection in and of itself. The appointed tour guide played chimes appropriately tuned for breakfast and dinner announcement.