Caboose Torched at Temple (Tx.) RR Museum

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Mon Jan 19, 2015 5:02 pm

Quote:

The Fire Marshal's Office is investigating a historical train car fire outside the Temple Railroad & Heritage Museum Sunday evening.

More than a dozen firefighters arrived to find flames and smoke billowing from a wood framed caboose in the 300 block of West Avenue B.

Temple Fire & Rescue battled the flames and were eventually able to contain and extinguish the fire. The caboose received extensive fire damage, however a dollar loss has not been determined. No other train cars were affected or were in danger.

http://www.kxxv.com/story/27881232/fire ... oad-museum

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/state ... 23426.html

Les Beckman · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm **Posts:** 6482

Anyone have any info on this caboose?. It appears to be a steel bodied caboose, not wood. I found some info on this museum on the internet and it shows a Santa Fe offset cupola caboose and a Katy wide vision, but this does not appear to be either of those.

Les

Brian Norden · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:02 am

Go about half way down this web page and there is mention of a Santa Fe caboose at Temple. http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr402.htm

The text says:

Quote:

999324, Class Ce-2, was built by American Car & Foundry in 1927 as 1556, Class Ce-1. It was rebuilt in San Bernardino in July 1969 as 999324, Class Ce-2. It was retired on March 1, 1988. It is preserved at the Railroad Museum in Temple, TX, and has been given its original number.

emd2024 · **Joined:** Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:12 am **Posts:** 7

The porthole style window in the door might be a clue. Certainly not a Santa Fe spotting point! I hope they can find the perpetrators.

Les Beckman · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm **Posts:** 6482

emd2024 -

In addition to the round porthole in the door being different from the square window in AT&SF #1556, the roof is too flat, the ladder too wide, and it looks like the caboose that caught fire had no coupler. I wonder if this might have been a privately owned caboose that was kept next to the Temple museum, which could explain why there is nothing about it on the museums website.

Someone must know the heritage. Speak up!

Les

mikefrommontana · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:07 pm

Looks like a steel "Northeastern" caboose. Note the paired windows at the far end of the car. The porthole door window is another giveaway. The door, in combination with the steps, ought to narrow down the heritage of the car fairly quickly.

Michael Seitz
Missoula MT

Richard Glueck · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:17 pm

The question remains, is it a total loss, or will the museum and some determined individuals even attempt to restore it?

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:34 pm

Captive Cabeese in America lists three cabooses at the Museum in 2008: AT&SF 999324, ex-ATSF 1556, nee-Gulf, Coplorado & Santa Fe, built 1927; MKT 140, a steel wide-vision built 1973; and MP 13048, as MP 1243, steel cupola. The caboose burning isn't the wide-cupola, and if we accept that it's the car shown in the second photo, its origins as a pre-Santa Fe caboose would explain the anomalies that don't "fit" most Santa Fe cars.

Frank Hicks · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:57 pm

How about this?

http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4073065

Les Beckman · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm **Posts:** 6482

Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Hicks -

Thanks very much for the identification of the burned caboose at Temple being ex-Missouri Pacific. Everything fits! Just yesterday, we solved a long running thread here on RyPN by being able to identify a similar caboose on display in New Mexico as definitely being ex-C&EI, and ex-MP. I don't want to go there again! But here is a quick history of this type caboose on the MoPac:

The first ones were built by Magor in 1937 as MP numbers 910 though 934. The MP liked them so much that they built about 40 similar cars in their own shops in the 1950's. A Texas & Pacific subsidiary (the KO&G) also had some of this type, but 10 feet longer, built both in the company shops and by International Car. And finally, there were those six C&EI cabooses built in 1947 by AC&F. Most of the T&P and C&EI cars ended up on the MoPac. Confusing things even a bit more, the MP had a number of renumbering's through the years. I believe the report about this caboose at Temple being MP 13048/1243, but just don't ask me who built it or when or for what railroad.

Les

EDM · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 6:34 pm

A Northeastern caboose (originally a RDG design) would have a centered cupola, and they weren't built with passenger car type steps. IIRC, the LV version had three steps, a casting, while everyone else (RDG, CNJ, L&HR, WM) had two steps. I'm pretty familiar with them as I used to own LV 95070, some time ago.

mikefrommontana · **Posted:** Tue Jan 20, 2015 11:21 pm

Hard to properly ID a burning caboose.....

Rather a nice proportioned car, but doubt it will be restored sadly.

Michael Seitz
Missoula MT

elueck · **Posted:** Wed Jan 21, 2015 5:59 pm

Many of this series of Mopac cars were built or rebuilt at the T&P shops in Marshall Tx.

Sister car 1238 resides at the Texas State RR, and was used on last years photo freight special.

Les Beckman · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm **Posts:** 6482

Here's another MP hack:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... ?id=511295

This one is Missouri Pacific #1234 and located at the railroad museum in Pueblo, Colorado. Note the similarities to the burned caboose; porthole window in door, wide end ladder, similar radius of cupola roof. Sure look like sister cars. As for whether the caboose in Temple is salvageable, it depends upon how much damage was done before the fire department managed to get the fire out. Surely some body warping and probably complete wood interior destruction. A photo of the aftermath might tell the story.

Les

StLSW · **Joined:** Tue Feb 25, 2014 10:56 pm **Posts:** 39

Glad to say that the MP cab came through the fire pretty well. Interior is gutted, as you would expect, but the exterior, other than scorched paint (and the previous rot on the other sidesill) came through pretty good- no apparent warpage. I understand the intent is for an exterior refurb, and to remain in the collection.