A friend of mine sent me a photo of a train on the Huckleberry Railroad. Pix was taken from rear end showing lots of passenger cars up front and one of the steam locomotives (smoke plume visible.) The rear car was a caboose with a nice Christmas wreath on the rear railing. It had passenger-car-type end steps, cupola, side door with windows in front and behind that door, and a side ladder to the top. Can anyone advise the cars heritage? Or was it a new caboose built for the Huckleberry? I can't find any info on their website about it except that they say they have two vintage cabooses. They also apparently have a hopper but i'm assuming that that came from the EBT.

Any info appreciated. Thanks.

Les

CyZ 25?/Huckleberry Railroad 0776.

Thanks Roger. Is the second caboose also ex-CyZ?

Les

There were two CyZ cabooses that were obtained by Early West Railways back in 1965. These side-door cabooses are listed as being #151 and 152 in the April, 1965, issue of "Pacific News."

Beside the CyZ freight cars and cabooses there were also Unidos de Yucatan passenger cars. In time, a fair number of the cars obtained by Early West Railways (which never operated) ended up at the Huckleberry.

D&RGW 0526 (ng), PM A621 (sg), and the (dead) body of C&O 90612 (sg).

I started this thread by talking about a photo of the subject caboose that a friend of mine had forwarded to me. This photograph appears in the new "D&RGW 464 at Montrose?" thread and was apparently taken by Glen R. Witham at the Huckleberry Railroad this past December 7th. So if anyone is interested in seeing the photo (and the caboose), that's where to look for it.

Les

The caboose in the photos of the Huckleberry is one of the Coahuila Y Zacatecas cabooses. Although no clear record of which car survives we think it was #152. We believe #151 burned in Ca but the trucks survice at the Huckleberry under one of two coaches. The number 0776 is derived from the first day of operation of the Huck, July 4th, 1776.

Paul

Dang,

The Huckleberry RR is a lot older than I thought. No wonder it goes around in circles!

Roger

Wrong again, Roger! We don't go around in circles. Our main line is almost four miles of a former Pere Marquette/C&O branch line, with a reverse loop at each end. This gives us an eight mile round trip.

I've ridden the train twice, toured the shops, shed a tear or two for the C&O caboose hulk outside the shops, and always thought of a loop as pretty much a circle! And you have two of these loops, correct?

Marty said, "Wrong *again*, Roger!" Where was I wrong the first time?

1776?

Cabooses on the Huck:

Misidentified C&Z #?: http://cencalrails.railfan.net/pmA621jd.jpg

C&O 90612: Jones, Dwight, 2001, C&O & B&O Cabooses, Vol. 1: Columbus, OH, B&O Caboose Publishers, page 48.

PM 621: as above, Vol. 2: page 40.

The 2 Jones books available from Dwight at: csxcabooses@msn.com

Pre 'berry D&RGW 0526: Grandt, Rbt. L., 1987, Narrow Gauge Pictorial, Vol. 5, Cabooses of the D&RGW: pages 46 & 47.

There is also a shot of PM A621 on this web site: http://www.pmhistsoc.org/preservd.shtml

Paul neglicted to tell you that George Washington's private car (Foster and Rastrick 1772-built GLEEBER'S FALLS) is in his restoration shop now.

dave

Loops at each end is a nice way to turn a tourist train IF you have the room. Some though, might think this is not prototypical and more of a model railroading method. BUT, I seem to recall there being a loop at Grand Central Station in New York. Am I right? Or not? And were there other "loops" at any other terminal (or other) locations, to turn trains?

Les