On Friday Oct 10 the Saginaw/Polson #2 at Mid Continent RR museum in North Freedom, Wi was fired up for first time in almost 15 years. While not perfect it was still a great day for many of us. Especially Skip Lichter the owner. In the end we had trouble with the burner and could not get fire to atomize on steam along with a leaky valve and other things related to the burner. We did get up to 50 lbs but needed to shut down to let the boiler cool off and pull the burner out for repairs or adjustments. Had hoped to got up to 180 lbs, but we have to address the burner problems. We quit about dusk.

There were many onlookers and folks helping out as we found leaks and running errands. Jim Wrinn bought lunch for the workers and was much appreciated. A lot of people tried out the whistle which worked fine. First time in 14 years a steam locomotive out of our collection has been hot. While this may seem like a small step for mankind, this was a great day for us at Mid Continent. There were many folks taking pictures and video's, I invite folks to put them on here. Guess pictures may not convey the excitement of having a locomotive hot for the first time in 14 years, but it was for us.

Regards, John. PS whoops, didn't see the post down below.

one step at a time, back up, debug, and clog on, you will get there.

cheers!

Got an update from Dave Wantz. Today they found the defective control valve was completely FUBAR and replaced with a ball valve on hand. Will need a little tweaking so it can be feathered more easily. Had to preheat the oil to get it burning correctly and currently have about 130 lbs on it as about 7:00 PM CST and for the most part things are working well enough to test the pops at 180 lbs. A list of improvements to the burner remain, but they are gaining on it after much trial and error. Gary Bensman is directing the show so pretty confident it will be seen to success for tonight's steam test. Going to be a late night by the time they shut down for the night and put things away. Tomorrows plan is drain and winterize, remove the tender and put that back outside. That is if all goes well and steam test is deemed complete and satisfactory by Gary. Thanks all for the support. Regards, John.

Going back down to MC to help with the #2 today and tomorrow. Steam test successful last night. Made some progress on the burner issues. Will fire up again today/tonight and again tomorrow before separating the tender and begin winterizing the locomotive. At least that was the plans I was told on the phone this AM. All plans subject to change without warning. Thanks for the support. Hope I am not boring some of you, but it is almost the day before Christmas for me and many of us.

Sunday A.M. saw the pop lifting, steam passages blown out (Skip watching), and more whistling to passing museum trains. It gives a grand feeling to members and visitors alike.

Looks like a fun time was had. With this kind of attention, she will steam well for many years in operation. I love seeing old locomotives come to life.

By the time I got there Sunday, plans had changed and Sunday was the final fire up. We separated the tender from locomotive and winterized the boiler late Sunday afternoon. Have two pages of to-do list. The control valve is old and has many old repairs and is in need to possible repair or replacement. The ball valve put in its place worked but not well enough to leave on as is. We had some studs slightly hissing under the firebox supports, which were addressed and chalked today. Our 180# pop valve is going south with Gary to be reset. Piping has to be straightened out so the insulation and jacketing fit properly when that time comes. Some re-engineering of the burner location and access. Overall the steam test was a success. Still a lot of work remains, but this was an important step for this project.

Often the owner {Skip} is working by himself so the progress gets slow when you only have two hands trying to do much of this work. But he does get help here and there so it will go back together. Just not fast enough for me.

Regards, John.

Added pics of Sunday. Last fire up, steam test complete.