Umnus Steamer Restoration

Umnus Steamer Restoration Originally uploaded by Gadder.

Cousin Rick Schroeder appeared on the front page of The RECORD REVIEW this week. Rick is standing on the far right of this photo. Follows is the text from that article: As reprinted from THE RECORD REVIEW Serving Athens, Edgar, Marathon and Stratford Wednesday, August 31, 2005 Steamer gets 21st century restoration A lovingly restored 1915 Nicholas and Shepard steam engine made its debut at this past weekend’s 32nd annual North central Wisconsin Antique Steam and Gas Engine Show. The engine, owned by steam show host Kurt Umnus, Jr. and his niece, Ellen Eisch, both of the town of Wien, was repaired and repainted in original colors over the past two years by a a team of nine Edgar area antique tractor enthusiasts, including Fred Baeseman, Dave “Bahama” Berens, Henry Paul, Chris Huebsch, Richard Schroeder, Aaron Baeseman and Linda Berens. The crew fixed the old engine, purchased by Kurt Umnus, Jr. in 1978, in a shed owned by Ellen and Terry Eisch, also town of Wien. “It took 500 hours to restore,” said Terry Eisch. “That calculates to 27 cases of beer and 400 hamburgers. That’s not to mention the 60 cans of oven cleaner it took to get all the old grease off.” The work team installed a new water tank, wood box and back platform. The members also sandblasted the old metal, repainted the engine its original green (matching old photographs) and polished the engine’s brass. Fred Baeseman said that the biggest challenge in working on the huge engine was taking off the engine’s enormous steel wheels. “Each wheel weighs 2,500 pounds,” he said. “We had to pour a five inch slab of concrete in the shed just so we had something to jack the engine up with. There is so much weight to these things you can’t just jack it up on gravel.” Rick Schroeder said he used Q-Tip cotton swaps to paint on the detailing colors on the engines. “My dad was a sign painter,” he said. “In my genes I was able to do it.” Baeseman said that the restored engine is fully functional. The engine’s boiler is capable of generating a 100 psi of steam from slab wood tossed in the fire box. Baeseman said that the two year project taxed the patience of even steam engine fanatics like themselves. “We were going to be done in six months,” he said. “This is the first and last one we will ever do.”

Gary adds: Rick said he has been involved with this annual North central Wisconsin Antique Steam and Gas Engine Show for the past 28 years, ever since it moved to Edgar from Wausau. He confirmed that the school house in which Aunt Betty (Schroeder) DeBalski taught was moved to the Umnus site.

For more Schroeder history click on the above photo for a link to a "flickr" account. Then click on "Gadder's Photostream" for a series of slide shows. Scroll down until you arrive at "Schroeder Buildings". Click on the set to see a small slide show. To see the text associated with a specific photo, click on that photo.