Milwaukee Bicentennial SD40-2

wiokie · **Joined:** Wed Oct 24, 2018 4:08 pm **Posts:** 6

I was passing through Oklahoma City this morning and happened to stop by the Oklahoma Railway Museum on my way North. Sitting at the museum was BUGX 156 - the former Milwaukee Bicentennial locomotive. I am curious if anyone knows exactly what the plans are for this unit. Will it be both a cosmetic and mechanical restoration?

Personally I would have thought this unit would have ended up at IRM or somewhere in the upper Midwest and not in Oklahoma. I've attached a pic of the unit as it currently sits. The funny thing is the CNW bicentennial hopper is a regular visitor up in the Enid area as it is part of the car pool for Oxbow Calcining at Kremlin. Two bicentennial pieces within roughly 80 miles. The CNW car remains in its original paint - I had put together a thread on it here a few years back and hope someone is able to get ahold of it before it gets scrapped out.

PMC · **Joined:** Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm **Posts:** 2876

A year ago I posted this: viewtopic.php?p=320556#p320556

A Milwaukee Road fan had located it in a Decatur IL scrapyard and was trying to generate enthusiasm for preserving it on facebook. I recall seeing an update about a leasing company moving it west a while back but can't remember where. ORM has some odd pieces from railroads outside of their area in their collection, including a Frisco-painted Northern Pacific F9 and a Milwaukee Road SW-1200 among others, but no matter, it's good whenever a Milwaukee Road diesel is saved.

OkieAndy · **Joined:** Mon May 20, 2019 11:27 pm **Posts:** 13

BUGX 156 is sort of on loan to the ORM right now, I'm not sure exactly how long it's staying. I'm not going to say anything about any future plans for it, but I think at the moment it's got a busted crank rod or something. I might be wrong though

PMC · **Joined:** Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm **Posts:** 2876

As of last month the unit is confirmed saved at Oklahoma Railroad Museum, although a leasing company still owns it: https://railfan.com/milwaukee-road-bice ... -oklahoma/

wiokie · **Joined:** Wed Oct 24, 2018 4:08 pm **Posts:** 6

Thank you for the update on the Bicentennial unit. I’m glad to hear that it will be staying in Oklahoma City and hope to get down to photograph it once the repainting is complete. Based on the article - are they intending to have it fully operational and cosmetically restored within a year or a cosmetic restoration only in that time? Any idea when they plan to begin the process of doing so?

PMC · **Joined:** Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:55 pm **Posts:** 2876

wiokie wrote:

Thank you for the update on the Bicentennial unit. I’m glad to hear that it will be staying in Oklahoma City and hope to get down to photograph it once the repainting is complete. Based on the article - are they intending to have it fully operational and cosmetically restored within a year or a cosmetic restoration only in that time? Any idea when they plan to begin the process of doing so?

Good questions. I think the muddled ownership situation will complicate the unit's restoration.