The Little Engine & the Little-r Engine: Mid-Continent Railway + Riverside & Great Northern 8/9/2011

The Mid-Continent Railway museum in North Freedom, WI made its name as a live steam museum showcasing what they term the "Golden Age of Railroading," spanning the years 1880-1916. However all of their once operational steam locomotives (including the regionally famous Chicago and North Western type R-1 4-6-0 No. 1385) went cold and silent from 1998-2000, due for their federally mandated 15-year/1472-day overhauls and lacking the necessary funds to complete the work in a timely fashion. In August 2011, the Vulcan-built 0-4-0T Flagg Coal Co. No. 75 was trucked in for a week of excursions. It's not quite the same, but at least the diminutive saddle tank provided a little taste of real steam. I (along with my friend Justin K.) made the drive out from Milwaukee where I was living at the time to catch in in action. We see No. 75 back down on the train after running around following the previous trip, then depart with the 11:30 AM train. After a runby at County Rd. W, we see it cut off to run around once again. The museum's RS-4-TC No. 1256 was coupled behind the caboose to provide an extra shove when the little steamer needed it, as well as lead the train north (timetable west) back to the museum. Since we were in the neighborhood, we swung by the Riverside & Great Northern Railway in Wisconsin Dells to watch one of their excursions depart. The 15" gauge 4-4-0 R&GN 98 is one of the few steam locomotives that could make FCC 75 look huge by comparison! This ended up being the only footage I ever got of their then-primary workhorse No. 98 in action, as by the time I returned to the RGN in 2023 it had been retired, and they were soon to acquire the ex-Milwaukee Zoo 4-4-2 1916 and 4-6-2 1924, among other larger power.