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This is an e-mail I have received from the museum. Sounds like their worst fears have been realized. Please help them out with a donation if you can.
Steve
Dear Mid-Continent Friends and Members,
As many of you know, major flooding in Sauk county has dealt a severe blow
to Mid-Continent Railway Museum. Early Monday morning, June 9th, the
Baraboo River, which runs adjacent to our property, rose out of its banks
after a weekend of very heavy rain. This was no typical spring flood
though. The waters rose all day Monday and much of the day Tuesday. The
river crested late Tuesday at over 28 feet as measured upstream at Rock
Springs, which is more than seven feet higher that the highest stage on
record and more than 20 feet above normal.
There is major damage to our museum property. The depot building is
flooded several feet above the main floor and the passenger platform has
washed away in places. The engine house, car shop, freight house and other
small buildings all have several feet of water. The Coach Shed has several
inches of water. All diesel locomotives have flooded traction motors.
Nearly all the coaches have water above the journal boxes. The GBW 49 and
Soo 2645 steam locomotives on the display track have water above the
couplers. Copper Range 29 has been spared so far, with water still below
the axles. The office building has several inches of water in the
basement. There is no word yet on track or bridge conditions.
Obviously, all train operations are suspended until further notice and
most likely for the season.
It is too early to tell the entire scope of the damage we have received or
how we will go about recovering. For now, we will leave you with some
sobering pictures from the museum. Click the links to several photo
galleries on the webcam page, including a time-lapse movie from our
webcams here:
[
www.midcontinent.org]
Following is the official News Release that has been sent to media outlets
around the Midwest by General Manager, Don Meyer. Please feel free to pass
the word along to anybody you know who may be interested and able to help
in our recovery efforts.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mid-Continent Railway Museum
P.O. Box 358
North Freedom, WI
Contact person: Don Meyer, General Manager
Office: 608-522-4261
dmeyer@midcontinent.org
[
www.midcontinent.org]
We’ve Met Our Match
For the first time in its 46 years of operations at North Freedom, the
Mid-Continent Railway Museum has had to cancel its train rides.
“This is a point of pride for us,” says Don Meyer the museum’s general
manager. “We have always told our guests that the train runs, rain or
shine.” Even last February’s blizzard did not prevent the museum from
holding its celebrated Snow Train event. But in this year’s flooding Meyer
admits the museum has finally met its match.
“The extent of the flood damage is so excessive,” he reports, “that it
looks like it will be a severe challenge for us to even stage our Autumn
Color and Pumpkin Special events in October.”
By the time the water crested Tuesday night every building except for the
office, the highest point of the property, was inundated with water. The
worst hit was the museum’s 1894 Chicago & North Western depot.
“This is probably the most recognizable building on our property,” Meyer
says. “Every visitor walks through its doors to purchase their tickets for
the ride. It’s where your journey always begins.” Now this historic icon
has standing water in each of its rooms several inches deep.
Also hard hit is the museum’s equipment. “We will literally be stuck in
the mud once the water recedes,” he admits. “We will likely need to truck
our diesel engines to another site for clean-up and repair. The work will
simply be too big for us to do ourselves.”
The damage from the mud and water will also affect the coaches people ride
in. “Nothing will move,” Meyer promises, “until each car has its wheels
and bearings cleaned and lubricated.” So the work will have to take place
outside right where the vintage equipment is currently standing for fear
of doing further damage.
What is totally unknown at this time is the extent of the damage done to
the museum’s track. This includes the two bridges that are part of its
four-mile route. In the final analysis, the rebuild of the bridges may
confront the museum with its most costly repairs. It will depend on what a
physical inspection reveals once the water level has gone down far enough
for an informed assessment to be made.
All the main roads leading to the museum have been closed due to the high
water. Still there have been a few venturesome people who have found a way
to get there by locating the back roads that have not been affected by the
flooding.
Everyone who makes it has camera in hand. The site of steam locomotives
and railroad cars waist deep in the muddy current is just too amazing not
to record. Meyer’s weekly web log message ruefully refers to the museum’s
facility as Lake Mid-Continent.
Ironically something else that has been inundated is the museum’s web
site. Their service provider has asked Mid-Continent’s webmasters to
remove the link to its two web cams located on the property. Visits to the
site were just too numerous for the provider to handle. As an alternative,
a gallery of still images is being archived so people can view the water’s
invasion of the once active rail yard. Follow the links on our home page
to view the pictures of the damage.
The museum is operated by the Mid-Continent Railway Historic Society, a
Wisconsin not-for-profit corporation founded in 1959. It’s collection of
wooden cars is purported to be the largest in the country, many of them
one-of-a-kind pieces that have been saved from destruction by the
dedication of the society’s members. Now that same task is confronting
them again.
“We’ll survive,” Meyer says. “It’s that point of pride we have about what
has been accomplished here since we first moved our collection to North
Freedom in 1963.” The commitment of the society’s members can be summed up
in just four words, “The trains must run.” And given time they will again.
Donations to aid with the clean-up and repair of the facility are
tax-deductible and can be sent to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s
mailing address at PO Box 358, North Freedom, WI 53951. Donations can also
be made via credit card through our website, www.midcontinent.org. All
gifts are gratefully appreciated and will be properly receipted.
END
