Today we began the long road of restoring this 1907 caboose. Several horrors were found not unexpected tho and will be rectified, it appears the caboose has been dragged sideways at some point with damage to the frame as a result. The cupola is sinking and this is down to the 5 x 3 support being entirely rotted out 9ft of this will be renewed.
We also found that the frame had been shimmed so that the siding went on parallel to it...maybe twisted when constructed or damage sustained later on before re siding.

Mike Pannell
Cheyenne

...but other than that it's in fine shape. Normally I'd wish you the best of luck but given your track record for making wooden hulks into pristine restorations, I'm confident that the caboose is in very good hands. Looking forward to progress reports as it appears that some of the woodworking will be quite extensive and should prove informative for those undertaking a similar project of this magnitude.

I know it's adding another layer to your effort, but drawings -please- with measurements and photos, perhaps. Line Drawings are invaluable.

Wonderful effort to recapture the work of railroad carpenters, whose talents died with them.

I would check with the Union Pacific Railroad Museum for plans.

An SP wooden caboose from the 1890s was restored by the NWP RR Historical Society. They found a bunch of class plans for the caboose at the California State Railroad Museum.

Large railroads like the UP tend to generate plans and archives.

It is always better to have plans to tell you what the builders had in mind!

Ted Miles, UP watcher