PROGRESS

Hello, and welcome to October's progress report! October has been another busy month for Project 1355, although much of the work undertaken has been in preparation for several substantial projects planned for November and early next year. We will have more to share about those undertakings once they are completed. First of all, we are thrilled to announce that as of the morning of 10/27/26, the tubes for #1355 were officially ordered. This represents a massive step forward in the boiler restoration of #1355 and brings us another step closer to an eventual hydrostatic test. Turning our attention to the brakes, all of #1355's brake beams have now been removed. This proved to be a surprisingly stubborn undertaking, requiring several full days of work to loosen and free them from the locomotive. After considerable effort, many cans of PB Blaster, and a generous helping of special sauce, the last of the brake beams finally gave. Another important task completed this month was the return of the New York Air Brake Duplex compressors generously loaned to us by the Kandiyohi County Historical Society in Willmar, Minnesota. After being reassembled, cleaned, and painted in Sioux City, our contractors and volunteers made the northeastward road trip to Willmar to mount the compressors back in their rightful positions. These compressors were originally removed from Great Northern #2523, a preserved P-2 class 4-8-2 Mountain-type locomotive, and provided us with invaluable replacement parts for #1355's own compressor. We would once again like to extend our sincere gratitude to the Kandiyohi County Historical Society for its generosity and cooperation. Without their assistance, our efforts to return our air compressor to service would have brought about considerable expenses.

Since Project 1355 began in the summer of 2024, the locomotive has been subjected to considerable work that can be seen up and down the machine today. The initial stages of the restoration have been about understanding the pacing of the restoration process as well as understanding the condition of our machine from the inside out (oftentimes literally). Overall, we are happy to report one thing: #1355 is a more than capable restoration candidate. The Great Northern's H-5 class was designed and built to an appreciable standard that can be seen in every nook and cranny. We have plenty of big restoration milestones coming up for the locomotive in the coming months and years, but before we can get excited about those, we must look back on what work has been completed to reach this point.

