www.rgusrail.com - Milwaukee Road #261

Milwaukee Road #261 is a coal-fired S3 Northern type (4-8-4) outshopped by Alco in July 1944. It was amongst the last steam locomotives purchased by the Milwaukee Road and was in service for only 10 years, going into storage in late 1954 (1955 was the last year of regular steam service on the Milwaukee Road).

It was donated to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, WI, in 1956 and was their first display locomotive (there is page on this website on the National Railroad Museum). Stored indoors for much of its time at the National Railroad Museum, its exterior asbestos lagging removed and the interior of the firebox foam insulated, #261 was a prime candidate for restoration.

Milwaukee Road 261, Winona to La Crescent, MN

Above, the train stopped at Winona for a crew change.

On most excursions, #261 was coupled with a diesel-electric supplied by Amtrak to provide pulling power in case of a breakdown, as well as electrical power to the passenger carriages. On this excursion, Amtrak #198 (a GE P42DC Genesis Class) joined #261.

This was #261’s second to last excursion before it underwent boiler recertification, which involves removing the cab, boiler lagging and boiler flues, and sandblasting the inside of the boiler. It is then sonar scanned and, providing there are no major problems, the locomotive is recertified.

It was hoped #261 would be back in steam by September 2009 but wrangling with the National Rail Museum over leasing charges delayed progress. In May 2010, however, the two sides reached agreement for the Friends to purchase #261 for $225,000. This happily means the locomotive will steam again with the help of the dedicated bunch of volunteers who have kept it running since 1993.

In 1991, a group of investors formed North Star Rail Inc., a “for profit” organisation, and took a ten year lease on the locomotive. It was moved to Minneapolis and restoration was completed in 1993.

#261 moved under its own power for the first time in 39 years on 14th September 1993. Next day, it departed Minneapolis for North Fond du Lac and, on 18th September, returned with 14 cars in tow on its first public excursion.

North Star employed 4 staff at the locomotive's storage and maintenance facility, a former Burlington Northern Diesel Shop at Minneapolis Junction, MN. Excursions were operated by Friends of the 261, a volunteer group. They assisted with maintenance, prepared for and staffed excursions and, in many respects, were the backbone of the entire operation.

I rode with #261 on 13th September 2008 on a day excursion on former Milwaukee Road rail from Minneapolis, MN, to La Crescent, MN, return.

On the left of this picture, one of the crew is also filling the automatic lubricator just above the cylinder.

On the trip down from Minneapolis, I arranged to ride in the cab from Winona to La Crescent and back. This is the fireman’s view from the cab.

Wherever it went, #261 attracted lots of attention, so there was quite a crowd when we stopped at Winona for a crew change. Some passengers also disembarked here and others joined the excursion.

#261 weighs 460,000 lbs and had a tractive effort of 62,040 lbs. The cylinders are 26” x 36”. Like many Milwaukee Road locomotives, the S3 had all-weather vestibuled cabs, a jacketed smokebox and solid cast pilot with a retractable coupler.

The picture on the right shows the smokebox squared door, fitted to S3s by the Milwaukee Road to permit easier access to the superheater units. Combined with the offset horn and bell, and the red Mars warning light, it gives #261 a somewhat unusual looking front end.

At Winona, the running gear was lubricated. A hand operated gun pumped grease sticks into the side rods to prevent overheating and burning of bearings.

Notice the Boxpop driving wheels. They are 74” diameter. All driving wheels had roller bearings and compensating lateral driving-box devices.

A study of the left front end showing the jacketed smokebox, which contributes to the locomotive’s smooth, clean profile. Note the air pumps set behind the pilot.

Three views of the backhead. #261’s operating boiler pressure was 250 psi, the grate area is 96 sq. ft. and the total evaporative surface is 4,473 sq. ft., including 1,438 sq. ft. superheater surface. The gold plated throttle, installed as part of the restoration, is evident in the photo on the far right! The original BNSF radio is just below.

This is the engineer’s view inside the cab and looking outside as we approached La Crescent with the steam cylinder cocks open.

With the fire doors open, the heat was intense.

The fire was fed by an automatic stoker (you can see the firing plate at the lower edge inside the fire door, with lumps of coal just visible being forced into the fire by steam jets). However, the fireman needed to pay attention to the fire and ensure it was of an even thickness, free from holes and banks. As well as shaking the grates, this necessitated hand firing coal to any parts of the fire that were uneven.

You can see more footplate action on the Sumpter Valley Railroad and Nevada Northern #93 pages of this website.

The fire doors are Franklin steam operated butterfly doors.

On the lower left and lower right of this photo, you can see the levers for the grate shaker bar. This is the metal bar projecting up on the right of the photo, which was used to shake the grates.

There were two firemen on this run. While one tended to the gauges, injector, feedwater and stoker controls, the other fired the engine.

Shaking the grates removed dead ash and clinker from the bottom of the fire. This ensured optimum air flow is maintained through the fire and the most economic use of fuel.

At La Crescent, we reversed through the long wye, out over Shore Acres Road and onto the La Crosse Rail bridge over the Mississippi.

Above are two views of the north-east branch of the wye.

Backing onto the bridge.

Out on the bridge.

Because the infrastructure used to supply steam locomotives is now gone, #261 pulled an auxiliary tank or "canteen" to supply the water it needed for the return trip.

Back at Minneapolis, the crew oiled #261, getting it ready to return to the engine house overnight.

The next day, it would haul its final excursion out to La Crosse and then back on the BNSF line via Wisconsin.

While the crew was working, passengers and visitors could go up a set of stairs and take a quick look at the cab.

The excursion was a really great day out! Everyone involved was very welcoming, knowledgeable and accommodating, making it a real pleasure from start to finish. People just didn’t seem to want leave.

It’s a sad occasion when any functioning steam locomotive is taken out of service, so keeping #261 running is a win for both the Friends and fans. It is a truly majestic piece of engineering, beautifully maintained and operated by a crew of dedicated volunteers, and it will give many more thousands of people enormous pleasure during its future excursion career.