For all of you steam fans, Milwaukee 261 has been bought by the Friends of 261 after a battle with former owner Green Bay Museum. The rebuild of the engine was on hold for the time of all the negotiations, etc. Today, the locomotive was hoisted up off her drivers and the drivers removed. She went back into the engine shop on her leading and trailing trucks. I have been told that the drivers will be overhauled by a local shop not far away from the engine's Milwaukee Junction home. This is good news, and any contributions to the restoration will be appreciated by the Friends of the 261. http://www.261.com Fall excursions normally pulled by the 261 will be diesel powered, but they will run, and the fall colors along the Mississippi River will be there. The funds raised by the excursions will help the 261 rebuild. :tb-biggrin::thumbs_up:
I'm glad they've got enough to get up and going, since they spent most of the rebuild funds to buy her outright. It is a shame they can't get any more steamers out for fall, is 765 booked already, Or could they come out the way 4449 did? (Since 765 and 261 crews worked together at least once in the New River Gorge) Still not 261, but they'd sell better than would a diesel me thinks.
Don Crimmin, one of the 261 crew, sent me a series of photos of the "lift-off" and here is one of them. Photo by Ralph Back. Take a good look at the "straps" from the cranes holding this 227,000 lb. carcass in the air. Those things are made of Kevlar!! Amazing. Reports from more than one crewmember said the lift was so very stable, they could detect no motion at all from the engine as the drivers were rolled out underneath. This is how we remove drivers in the 21st century. No drop tables required (nor available).
