Milwaukee Road #261 by Bruce Friesch
As a child, I lived a
few blocks from Hiawatha Avenue in South Minneapolis where the Milwaukee Road
ran. Needless to say, I've been a Milwaukee Road fan ever since. The 261
is one of ten locomotives in the Milwaukee Road's S-3 class (numbered #260 thru
#269), which were the last steam locomotives the railroad ordered. She was
delivered in 1944 and ran for only 10 years when she was retired in 1954.
It was donated to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, WI and sat there
until the
Friends of the 261
got #261 running again in 1993. Of the ten locomotives in the class,
only two survive. Her sister engine, #265, is on display at the
Illinois Railway Museum. Ever since she was steamed up again, I've
been a huge fan of this wonderful steam locomotive. I try to ride
and/or follow her whenever I can. Here are some pictures of the
Milwaukee Road #261 and some of the other equipment of the Friends of the
261.
Currently, it's disassembled due to
it's 15 year boiler inspection. In May 2010, the Friends of the 261
finally were able to purchased the locomotive from the National Railroad
Museum. This will insure the locomotive will be back on the rails soon and
will remain in the care of the Friends.
Milwaukee Road Steam Locomotive
#261
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St. Anthony Falls - July 1996
Chanhassen, MN - May 1998
Minneapolis Junction - May 1999
Going to Duluth, MN - May 1999
Wayzata, MN - September 2000
Minneapolis Junction - June 2002
Pepin, WI - June 2002
Minneapolis Junction - May 2005
#261's Tender & Auxiliary Water Tender - July 2009
#261's Tender - July 2009 |
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Minneapolis Junction - May 1997
Chanhassen, MN - May 1998
Minneapolis Junction - May 1999
Minneapolis Junction - Summer 2000
Wayzata, MN - September 2000
Minneapolis Junction - June 2002
Minneapolis Junction - October 2003
Going to Duluth, MN - May 2005
#261's Tender - July 2009
#261's Tender - July 2009
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#261 in the shop, disassembled - July 2009
Skytop Observation Cedar Rapids
and Superdome #53
The Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha got upgraded
in 1948 with new cars, including the new Skytop Observations Cars. These
cars were designed by Brook Stevens. Of the four of them built (Cedar
Rapids, Priest Rapids, Coon Rapids, and Dell Rapids), only the Cedar Rapids is
still on the rails. It was acquired by the Friends of the 261 in 1999.
The Priest Rapids was burned by the Milwaukee Road. The Coon Rapids is
currently stored in Escanaba MI, while the Dell Rapids is in a museum in Daytona
Beach, FL. The Superdomes were built by Pullman for the Milwaukee Road's
Hiawatha in 1952. The Friends of the 261 were able to acquire #53 in 2005.
They now have the two premiere types of cars from the last generation of the
Hiawatha's Streamliners.
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May 1999
Cedar Rapids after being repainted -
May 2005
June 2007
Interior of the Cedar Rapids - June 2007
Superdome #53 - left and right sides
respectively - May 2005
Now repainted in orange and maroon -
June 2007
Interior of Superdome #53 - June 2007
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June 2002
June 2007
My wife (middle) with her Mom and
Sister Chrissy - June 2007
Interior of the Cedar Rapids - June 2007
Superdome #53 - left and right sides
respectively - May 2005
Cedar Rapids & Superdome #53 - June 2007
Interior of Superdome #53 - June 2007
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