GREEN BAY — There is no missing the Big Boy.
Visitors to the National Railroad Museum take in the massive Big Boy, a steam locomotive built in 1941 in Schenectady, New York, and used by the Union Pacific Railroad to pull freight cars through the mountains of Utah.
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Daniel Liedtke, curator at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, positions the locomotive of George Fenn's Buddy L toy train. The train set, donated by Fenn's family to the museum in 2021, served as a reminder of Fenn, who received the train as a Christmas gift in 1927 and was killed 16 years later in World War II. His body has never been found.
George Fenn, of Oshkosh, was a second lieutenant and fighter pilot in the U.S. Army Air Forces when he went missing over New Guinea in 1943 while piloting his P-39 Airacobra on an armed patrol in World War II.Â
The caboose of George Fenn's 1927 Buddy L train is made entirely of steel.
When George Fenn was a boy living in Oshkosh he made tunnels in the snow for his Buddy L train set he received for Christmas in 1927.
The climate-controlled Lenfesty Center, a 26,880-square-foot building with a 40-foot-high ceiling at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, holds the A4 Class British locomotive and two railroad cars, at left, used by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II; a Pullman sleeper car; the GG-1, an electric locomotive built in 1932; and the Big Boy, center, a 1.1 million-pound steam locomotive.
A 1927 Buddy L train, which was set up last week at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, will be in Madison for this weekend's 55th annual Mad City Model Railroad Show & Sale on Saturday and Sunday at the Alliant Energy Center.
George Fenn was 7 years old in 1927 when he wrote this letter to Santa Claus asking only for a Buddy L train set.
"Dear Santa Claus. How are your Eskimos. And your raindeers. And you. I forgot to tell you not to bring me any thing if you bring me the buddy 'l' train. From George Fenn."
While he was in high school in Oshkosh, George Fenn, above, took flying lessons from Steve Wittman, an air racer and airplane engineer for whom Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh is now named.
National Railroad Museum curator Daniel Liedtke looks over the museum’s collection of vintage rail car drumheads.
Visitors to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay view the museum’s collection of vintage rail cars and engines. The museum was established in 1956.
Photos: The restoration of the 1385 steam locomotive
Locomotive Restoration
Steve Roudebush takes a break from work on a 1907 steam locomotive at SPEC Machine in Middleton, Wis. Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. Since 2013, the 1907 engine from Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom has been undergoing a more than $2 million restoration. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Locomotive Restoration
Welded notations from work done in 1927 to a 1907 steam locomotive are seen on a component of the engine at SPEC Machine in Middleton, Wis. Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. Since 2013, the 1907 engine from Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom has been undergoing a more than $2 million restoration. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Locomotive Restoration
Identification plates for the 1385 steam locomotive are closer to being reinstalled. Restoration work on the locomotive could be completed in 2023.
Locomotive Restoration
A caliper and blueprints from a 1907 steam locomotive share a workbench at SPEC Machine north of Middleton. About 25% of the locomotive has received new parts machined to the original specifications.
Locomotive Restoration
Steve Roudebush works on the underside of a 1907 steam locomotive at SPEC Machine north of Middleton on Thursday. Since 2013, the 1907 engine from the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom has been undergoing what is expected to be a $2 million restoration.
Locomotive Restoration
Steve Roudebush views a 1907 steam locomotive at SPEC Machine in Middleton, Wis. Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. Since 2013, the 1907 engine from Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom has been undergoing a more than $2 million restoration. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Train project
A bell from a 1907 steam locomotive awaits reinstallation at SPEC Machine north of Middleton.
Locomotive Restoration
Steve Roudebush works on a 1907 steam locomotive at SPEC Machine in Middleton, Wis. Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. Since 2013, the 1907 engine from Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom has been undergoing a more than $2 million restoration. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Locomotive Restoration
Parts from a 1907 steam locomotive fill storage shelves at SPEC Machine.
Locomotive Restoration
Tyler Roudebush emerges from the firebox at the back of the 1385 steam locomotive that is undergoing a multi-year restoration at SPEC Machine north of Middleton. Roudebush had crawled into the locomotive to help install rocker grates in the bottom of the firebox.
Locomotive Restoration
Steve Roudebush has been working on the 1385 steam locomotive since 2013 and is hoping to complete the $2 million project in the next year or so. He even built an addition onto his machine shop to accommodate the 180,000-pound locomotive that had stints pulling the Great Circus Train.
Locomotive Restoration
Tyler Roudebush, left, works on the underside of a 1907 steam locomotive at SPEC Machine. Roudebush has spent eight of his 31 years helping his father restore the massive locomotive.
Locomotive Restoration
Reference materials for a locomotive restoration project share shelf space at SPEC Machine in Middleton, Wis. Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. Since 2013, a 1907 engine from Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom has been undergoing a more than $2 million restoration. JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL
Barry Adams covers regional news for the Wisconsin State Journal. Send him ideas for On Wisconsin at 608-252-6148 or by email at badams@madison.com.
