Wisconsin Volunteers Restore 117-Year-Old Steam Locomotive

For 30 years, volunteers across Wisconsin have spent their weekends bringing a 117-year-old steam locomotive back from the dead, and now they're just months away from hearing her whistle blow again.

Engine 1385 hasn't moved in 28 years, but Mike Wald and his team of passionate volunteers at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum near Baraboo are determined to change that. They've completed nearly $3 million in repairs since major restoration began in 2011, all funded through private donations.

"It's the only piece of mechanical equipment that I've ever worked with that has a personality," said Wald, the volunteer project manager. The team needs just $170,000 more to finish the most ambitious restoration the museum has ever attempted.

Built in 1907 in Pennsylvania, the locomotive hauled freight and passengers across northern Wisconsin for 50 years before retiring at the end of the steam era. Museum members pooled their money to buy it in 1961 for $2,600 (about $29,000 today), but major repairs were needed by the 1990s.

Pete Deets was one of the last firemen to shovel coal into 1385's boiler before she was pulled from service. Now he's training the next generation, including volunteer Becca Madero, who describes firing up a steam engine as watching it "come alive again."

The volunteers run a complete 7-mile historic railroad outside Baraboo, maintaining cabooses, engines, and machine shops. They've rebuilt and tested the boiler, fixed the whistle, repainted the tender, and continue fine-tuning every detail. Their goal is to have 1385 running by this winter.

Sunny's Take

What keeps these volunteers coming back every weekend isn't just the mechanical challenge. Wald says visitors constantly share memories of childhood train rides with their parents or grandparents. Little kids' faces light up when they see the massive machines.

"The little kids, and just the glow and the smile," Deets said. "That's my paycheck."

The project brings together people from all backgrounds, united by a love of railroad history and creating new memories for future generations. Some donors give a few dollars, others contribute thousands, all believing in keeping this piece of Wisconsin heritage alive.

Soon, families will once again hear 1385's whistle echo across the Wisconsin countryside, creating the exact kind of memories that inspired these volunteers to spend three decades bringing her back.