Chicago & North Western 1385 — the R-1 Class 4-6-0 that last operated in the 1990s — returned to its home at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in July after an extensive restoration. 

Locomotive 1385 was built in March 1907 by the American Locomotive Company as one of 325 R-1 class 4-6-0s owned by the C&NW. The R-1s were used in fast freight and secondary passenger service. The ten-wheelers were the largest single class of steam locomotives the C&NW ever owned. Locomotive 1385 was retired in 1956 and purchased by Mid-Continent members in 1961 for $2,600. The locomotive operated at Mid-Continent and across the Midwest, including a stint leading the Circus World Museum train, until it was retired in 1998. 

The locomotive was restored at an off-site facility and then transported back to the museum in North Freedom, Wis., by truck and flatcar, which was delivered by the Wisconsin & Southern on July 12. The locomotive is expected to be reassembled and operational by 2026. 

—Justin Franz