Chris Burger at the Throttle

Description

Three things go together. The 1385, Mid-continent Railway Museum and Chris Burger. First of all, the 1385 wouldn’t be in the picture at all if the museum hadn’t resurrected it from certain doom in a scrap yard. For years, with loving affection, Mid-content museum ran the engine on their own tracks at North Freedom, Wisconsin. This might have been a great retirement, but along came the Chicago and North Western Railway in the form of Wisconsin Division Manager Chris Burger. Arrangements were made to bring the 1385 up to main-line standards to operate over the entire C&NW System as the PROSPERITY Special, showing both the steam heritage and subsequent progress of the Railway.

What a wonderful event it was for the 1385 to again operate on Chicago and North Western Rails!

Modern Photos of this engine

Note:  Original paintings of “Chris Burger at the Throttle” and “Ten Wheeler Tradition” are on display through Dec 2024 at the Milwaukee School of Engineering – Grohmann Museum’s exhibit: “Gil Reid and Friends: Working on the Railroad”