Steve Glischinski Shoreview, MN MINNEAPOLIS – Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261 was steamed up Sept. 13 for the first time since October 2013. Friends of the 261 Chief Operating...

London Calling: Friends of the 261 to offer tour of English Heritage railways The Friends of the 261 is sponsoring a tour to England this September to tour heritage railways and ride behind mainline steam locomotives. The tour will be based in London, and will feature...

By Steve Glischinski Published: January 31, 2014 MINNEAPOLIS – The Friends of the 261 are progressing on the restoration of former Milwaukee Road Skytop parlor lounge observation car Cedar Rapids. The car, built by the Milwaukee Road at its Milwaukee Shops in 1948, is...

Private car trip to Washington, D.C. planned for spring Following the successful trip to Whitefish, Mont. last summer, the Friends of the 261 will be offering another luxury private rail car trip in spring 2014. The Capitol Express will depart Minneapolis/St. Paul for...

Friend’s car fleet travels cross-country on “Station to Station” artist train “Station to Station: A Nomadic Happening” an Avant-garde traveling music, film, and art extravaganza hired the Friends of the 261 to assemble an assortment of cars that traveled...

September 2013, the Friends of the 261 opened the Cedar Rapids up to Bonton to use as a background for their fall catalog. Their theme for the fall catalog was Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Among the Cedar Rapids where many vintage aircraft and cars. [ngg...

Milwaukee Road No. 261 makes test runs, preparations continue for Duluth excursion By Steve Glischinski Published: April 22, 2013 MINNEAPOLIS – On April 20, Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261 successfully pulled a five-car test train from Minneapolis to Glencoe on the Twin...

Notice: The Radisson in downtown Duluth is expected to remain closed through May 15th after a water line broke and flooded parts of the hotel's basement causing its guests to find other accommodations. For those of you that have reserved a room at the Radisson, we...

MILWAUKEE 261 STEAMS AGAIN! After a four-year rebuild effort by the Friends of the 261, Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261 steamed again on Sept. 29, 2012. The locomotive last operated on Sept. 14, 2008, when it pulled a round trip excursion from Minneapolis to La Crosse,...

Over the last few months, Friends of the 261 employees and volunteers have been busy working on the business car Lamberts Point. The car was always ‘ready to roll’ and was kept up to Amtrak standards, but the Friends decided 2012 was a good time to finish updating the...