Mid-Continent has placed a timeline of it's history online (see link below). Visitors to Mid-Continent's web page can learn about the Museum's progress and accomplishments through the years, and the names of some of the preservation pioneers whose vision started it all, and produced the results seen at the museum today.

Boyd

Mid-Continent Timeline
bowens@rypn.org

A good portion of the tools and parts left in N&W trucks. Northwestern Steel and Wire was not involved. Any parts aquired by IRM, if they were from the Jensen collection, proves that Erman Howell lied in court as to what remained or could be returned to settle or resolve the case.

This case was won by Jensen and appealed by the Railroads involved. The case was never retried
due to shortage of funds and then Jensen's injury and illness. It was settled out of court after Jensen's death.

Also, NKP 965 was never owned outright by Dick Jensen. It was still owned by M S Kaplan when it was scrapped. Jensen only held a First purchase option and a temporary restoration contract with the Kaplan Family. He moved the engine for the Kaplan family from the Gary yard to East Chicago. The scrapping was a result of conflict within the Kaplan organization.

Jensen was a regular shopper at Kaplan Scrap Yards ,aquiring tenders, water cars, and many parts of an ex-CRI&P Lima Built steam snow plow that was scrapped in Kaplan's Hegwisch Yard. This plow was belived to be the last steam driven shay engined plow built by Lima in 1950.


rich-young@afbisinc.com

Dear Howard:
Time is in short supply (Thomas is here!) but to partially answer your question, yes IRM got all of the steam locomotive parts that were in stock at NWS&W when they donated the remainder of their fleet to us. Some of the parts at NWS&W had been obtained from Ehrman-Howell and I recognized them as being a portion of the Jensen collection (I helped Richard load the parts and tools at the C&WI). Larry Cain, a former CB&Q shopman was the NWS&W steam locomotive forman at that time. He was sent to E-H to pick out parts. He stated that he was told that he could have anything he wanted, but he only had a day to chose. Larry only picked out stuff from the gondola (air pumps, power reverse gears, etc) and from the box car (staybolts, sleeves, dynamos, etc.) because he didn't have time to go through the baggage car (all the new flexis' for 5632, etc.) because the car was loaded floor to ceiling with tools, parts, etc. and would take days to unload (trust me, it took many days to load all the stuff in there). The fact that the car (and others) was so badly overloaded (all springs collapsed and down on all side bearings) was one of the many factors that prevented the collection from being accepted for interchange.
J.David

jdconrad@snet.net