I have been interested in the Great Northern's streamlined trains since childhood, as encompassed in my main web site on the subject, gnarchive.com.
Since 2005 I have been helping with the restoration of three cars owned by Ben Ringnalda — Great Northern Mountain series observation cars 1291, St. Nicholas Mountain and 1292, Going-to-the-Sun Mountain and built for the 1950 Mid-Century Empire Builder, and GN-built caboose X-7.
I've been keeping track of surviving GN passenger cars, and my interest was piqued in 2004 when I found that one of the surviving round-end observation cars from the Mid-Century Empire Builder was being relocated from the Seattle area to the Northern Central R.R. in New Freedom, Pa., which was not far from where I was living. I arranged to visit the car, former GN 1291, named St. Nicholas Mountain, at its new home at the Northern Central R.R., and was able to inspect the car and see how it had been gutted as its previous incarnation as part of the restaurant Andy's Tukwilla Station outside of Seattle. However, the Northern Central ran into difficulties and St. Nick, along with many other cars in their fleet, were moved to the former nearby Letterkenny Army Depot for disposition.
Great Northern 1291 St. Nicholas Mountain shortly after arriving in New Freedom, Pa. in 1992.
I feared St. Nicholas Mountain was headed to the scrap pile until I found that it had been bought by Ben Ringnalda, who had plans to restore the car.
(Ben has documented the early St. Nicholas Mountain restoration efforts extensively on his web site, stnicholasmountain.com.)
I contacted Ben, and he was looking for help with restoring "St. Nick", so I was glad to pitch in and be able to learn all about the construction and upkeep of passenger cars.
Ben and became fast friends, and I've had the fortune to be able to help out with his subsequent acquisitions, caboose X-7 in 2017, and Going-to-the-Sun Mountain in 2019.
1291 St. Nicholas Mountain
Caboose X-7
1292 Going-to-the-Sun Mountain
St. Nicholas Mountain at Letterkenny in 2006 - four middle windows have been replaced at this point.
Ben's intention was to move St. Nick to the Western Maryland Scenic R.R. shops in Cumberland, Maryland, but disputes between CSX and the previous owner kept the car at Letterkenny for two more years, but it was possible to work on the most pressing issues — patching leaks, and window replacement. The move to WMSRR finally took place in 2008, and work progressed on many issues with the car. Eventually it got to the point where using the car as workshop space was impacting project areas, so Ben acquired caboose X-7 as a work space and future restoration project. The focus turned to the caboose and getting it roadworthy and patching holes in the floor and roof to keep out the leaks.
The summer of 2019 brought a surprise with the unexpected arrival of GN 1291, Going-to-the-Sun Mountain, which had become available after spending years as part of a restaurant in Milwaukee, then cosmetically restored as a static display in Kansas City, then to a private owner based in Winslow, Arizona. GTTSM was the most complete of the surviving Mountain series cars, so it now became the focus of restoration efforts. Fortunately it was possible to get the X-7 and GTTSM out on the road for a trip each up and down the mountain on the back of the regular WMSRR train, and future outings were anticipated.
1291 arrives at the WMSRR
Running the X-7 on the WMSRR
However, the Covid epidemic in 2020 reshuffled the deck again, and all three cars needed to be moved out of the WMSRR facilities in short order, and a new home with shop facilities located. That place turned out to be the Midwest Railway Preservation Society in Cleveland, and the cars were moved there in July, 2020.
The cars are taken to the CSX Cumberland yards en-route to Cleveland in July, 2020.
Now based at the Midwest Railway Preservation Society in Cleveland, work continues on the cars, with the immediate focus being on replacing GTTSM's electrical systems for compatibility with modern HEP power systems. The Gyralight has been restored to operating condition, and installed in its roof housing, and work continues on the electrical systems, including updating the interior lighting to LED fixtures, and updating wiring throughout the car. Work on restoring the decorative pier panels in the lounge continues, with one panel replaced entirely, and others undergoing cleaning and repair from water damage. Work on the window seals is ongoing.
Going-to-the-Sun Mountain in Cleveland, January, 2022, sporting its newly renovated Gyralite.
More details about the Gyralite restoration >>>
Details about pier panel restoration >>>>
