Midwest Central Railroad

The Midwest Central Railroad is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge heritage railroad operating on the grounds of the Midwest Old Thresher's Reunion in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. The railroad is a non-profit organization operated by volunteers mainly from the Midwest. The track is a clockwise loop approximately 1 mile in length. It features 2 stations, one being an original station and the other being a new wood structured metal sided building.

Locomotives

The Midwest Central has six steam locomotives: two are currently running, one is in need of a new boiler and is going through a complete restoration, one is awaiting an in-depth boiler inspection, one is in Colorado as part of a long term lease agreement, and the other rolls around the yard rusting and needing extensive work. Some of the steam locomotives have been featured in several films.

MCRR Baldwin Mogul Number-6 001
1923 Lima #9.
1951 Henschel #16.
Baldwin 2-6-0, dismantled, awaiting restoration.
A small gasoline switcher.

There are two Plymouth diesel-hydraulic locomotives that came from Ohio. The Plymouth's were originally 38 inch gauge and were regauged to 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge after arrival in Mt. Pleasant. The 14 is used on a regular basis while the D-9 is undergoing restoration. There is a small Vulcan Iron Works gasoline switcher. A Model A and Model T fireman and foreman trucks complete the power roster.

Railroad cars

The railroad's passengers cars were constructed at the MCRR shops using Southern Pacific flat cars as a foundation. There are 3 cabooses: one is all-metal from the White Pass and Yukon Railroad, the second is wood construction on a SP flatcar frame based on the Bellevue and Cascade of Iowa, and the third is wood construction on a SP flatcar frame by scaling up a model caboose to full size. The MCRR has two D&RGW boxcars (3366 and 3007), one D&RGW gondola, and numerous D&RGW and WPYRR flat cars. The flat cars range from fully restored (D&RGW Nos 6216 and 6206) to extremely rough.

See also

References

  1. Jack Huber, The Surry Lumber Company -- Logs, Locomotives and Lumber, Virginia Forests, Winter 2000.
  2. Surrey, Sussex & Southampton RR No. 6, www.steamlocomotive.info, 2012; see notes section.
  3. Lima Locomotive Works, Inc. Shop Number 3199, web page at www.shaylocomotives.com, 2012
  4. News Release, June 13, 2007, History Colorado -- Georgetown Loop Historic Mining & Railroad Park
  5. Jeff Hunt, Trading History on Rails -- Midwest Central Railroad, History Colorado swap engines, The Burlington Hawk Eye, Jan. 27, 2011.
  6. SW No. 16, www.steamlocomotive.info, 2012; see notes section.

External links

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