Today after long preparations High Plains Railroad Preservation lifted and moved another important Union Pacific Caboose in Wyoming, this will move and join Caboose 2516 from 1913 already restored by HPRPA. This project is slightly different as it will be restored for the owners of the caboose. The important thing is that they have been made aware and realize the importance of this the earliest known CA caboose 2409 from 1907.
Mike Pannell

Cheyenne

Nice, another save!

When were these retired from service?

Hopefully, the owners will recognize the effort taken to preserve the caboose and choose wisely, how it will be used or displayed.
Agreed, another great save!

The frame and trucks of an even older UP caboose survive. According to Terry Metcalf the best identification for this car is Oregon Railway & Navigation Co. caboose #218, built by the OR&N at The Dalles, OR in August 1888. This car became Oregon-Washington Railway & Navigation Co. #3516 and was wrecked in April 1916. It would seem that the frame and trucks were sold to Polson Logging
Co. at that time. Frame and trucks to Roots of Motive Power at Willits, CA 06-26-12.

Here is some information on the trucks:

Truck #1 wood beam arch bar (OR&N and illegible number on bolster)
Axel #1 LOBDELL CAR WHEEL CO WIL DEL APRIL 8 1880 2½ 6½
“ “ March 2 1880 “ “
Axel #2 MAHER & BRAYTON CLEVELAND O 5 9 88
“ “ “ 5 11 88

Truck #2 wood beam arch bar (OR&N 26179 and illegible number on bolster)
Axel #1 LOBDELL CAR WHEEL CO WIL DEL Jan 26 1882
“ “
both C G LOBDELL PATENT JAN 1869

Axel #2 FORT MADISON IRON WORKS FORT MADISON IOWA #2188 OCT 4 ‘89
FORT MADISON IRON WORKS FORT MADISON IOWA #2627 NOV 18 ‘89

Couplers End #1 illegible
End #2 STANDARD C CO NY

This one was retired in April of 1946, the good way to identify retirement on these is the colour as they started going yellow in 1947, there were two here at this location and one got moved years ago we are trying to trace where it went.

We moved the 1907 caboose to our restoration base this week and for the first time in 70 years or so two UP CA cabooses were seen together, soon they will both be back inside the silo and work will begin.

What a nice image for this week! I always love hope and positive progress. A great save and a better future for the cabeese! Well done.

Nice save. I love the way your cabooses are trailer-able/mobile at least on your property. Be careful a lot of millennials will think it a "tiny house" and want to move it to the nearest walmart or keep it in the parents driveway! Seriously, nice work. Very cool what you do and how you do it. One other thing that would scare me though. In the posted pictures I cannot fathom the wind out in that part of the country, my goodness I forgot how flat it is. Bet the wind just screams out there? Been many years since have been out that way. Thanks for sharing your progress and best holidays to you and yours. Regards, John.

Do you have a line on any appropriate trucks?

Thanks for the comments, its not flat in Wyoming, Kansas maybe or Nebraska....we do get wind but its not that bad, love the sunshine even on the coldest days. I have found one pair of trucks not far away but trying to get the owners to reply is another matter, and still no trucks yet for Car 57 the Pullman, so my frames are the best idea for portability and structural rigidity.

Mike

A few more shots including interior....the lockers are both missing under the cupola, but i salvaged and restored a spare set from caboose 2455 that we scrapped several years ago and they will go back in this one. Waste not want not.

I know you probably get asked this quite often, but what would it take to get them back on track?

JOe

It would take replica trucks, bolsters etc and new end platforms extra structural work to hold a coupler and then private track

Mike