C&NW Historical Society had a big day in Chadron!

by Larry Miller

Rick Mills and Phyllis Carlson pause during a busy day – Friday May 18th – as three busloads of eager railroad buffs came to town to immerse themselves in.....railroading!

Rick Mills and Terry Sandstrom

Mills, whose day-job is curator of the Railroad Museum of South Dakota located in Hill City, served as chairman of the three-day Chicago and NorthWestern Historical Society convention held last week in Rapid City.  On Friday, three busloads of conventioneers arrived in Chadron to tour the Nebraska Northwest Railroad facilities – owned and operated for over a century by the C&NW Railway.

In the afternoon, they converged on the Dawes County Museum, where director Phyllis Carlson and a bevy of volunteers hosted the group.

Of particular importance at the museum was a wonderful new exhibition of railroad photographs, artifacts and memorabilia recently donated by Chadron native Terry Sandstrom, now of Wheatland, Wyoming.  Sandstrom, wearing the ball cap in the above photo, is shown visiting with Mills at the museum.

We captured a few photos of the roundhouse and museum events and have posted them in a linked gallery.  While not all images have yet been posted, and many have not yet been identified and need captions, we thought you might like a sneak preview.  You'll find it in our C&NW Gallery.

The Chadron Record did a special report about the C&NW in Chadron for their edition published just before the convention, and reporter/photographer Brandon Davenport also assembled a story posted a week after the event.  It's headlined Chadron's Railroad History on display.  

South Dakota museum has lots of C&NW artifacts

Rick Mills is the curotor of the South Dakota State Railroad Museum in Hill City, adjacent to the popular "1880 Train" depot.  Mills was the subject of a recent KEVN-TV feature, which we've posted below (Editor's Note: Alas, KEVN has withdrawn the link, and it is no longer available.  Sorry!)

After the Chicago & Northwestern Railway pulled out of Chadron in the 1980's, Mills obtained numerous documents and artifacts relating to its operation.

Over the years, a few Chadron area folks have had ties to the 1880 Train — originally called the Black Hills Central Railroad —  as well as the Railroad Museum.  The late John Miller, a long-time machinist at the C&NW roundhouse, helped repair and maintain old steam engines used by the line.

Road Foreman Jerry Drager served as an engineer on the line after retiring from C&NW until his death in 2007.  Another C&NW engineer, Kenny Kritenbrink, became well-aquainted Mills and donated various items to the museum.  He also provided Mills with a few train rides when the C&NW was operating in South Dakota.  Kritenbrink retired many years ago and still lives south of Chadron.  And while 1973 CSC grad Jim Alcorn worked several years for Burlington-Northern, he, too, worked for 1880 Train founder Bill Heckman back in the '70s. Alcorn now lives in Spearfish.

Keep your eyes open for a few C&NW artifacts in this KEVN report.