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Caboose Trains and Our Caboose

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Updated: Jun 28, 2009 12:02pm EDT

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About our Caboose : Read the story behind our caboose, Rutland 51, formerly CN 79775. Buying and preparing the caboose to move (July 19, 2006 - September 27, 2006) Buying was very easy. Ozark Mountain Railcar was easy and swift to deal with. Bought caboose on 7/19/06. Communication was great with former owner. He was friendly and helpful. Preparing the caboose for movement was done by the crew of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad enginehouse at Griffiss Air Force base in Rome, NY. All work was done quickly and professionally; we did, however, have to wait several weeks for special DF hoses to be delivered. Special thanks to everyone at the Adirondack Scenic Railroad who helped in preparing the caboose for its move -- specifically, Rob, Jim, John, and Tom. During the above period I talked to the four railroads involved in moving this caboose from Rome to Concord, NH. The two shortlines, Mohawk, Adirondack, and Northern Railroad and New England Southern, were very receptive and encouraging. Trying to get ahold of a live person at CSX took over a week and 12 calls. Finally when contact was made they helped me through a vast mountain of red tape and paperwork. Of course, prepayment was requested, as was a fuel surcharge. Guilford Rail Systems (a.k.a. Springfield Terminal, Pan Am Railways) also required prepayment. Movement is on a "Rule 11", which requires the customer to deal directly with each railroad -- not an easy task. CSX wants everything done via computer -- again, not an easy task. But in any event their "live" people are friendly. Now as of August 25th, all railroads are prepaid, checks have been cashed, and now I run into the first movement hurdle: waiting for the CSX car inspector to release the caboose for movement. After many calls, the inspector is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, September 6. This could be the start of the first delay. Car was inspected on September 8 by Carl from the CSXT Car Department. Car has been released and will be accepted on their property soon. Would like to thank Carl and his boss Louie for their help and support during this unusual move. After the installation of ghetto grates and many other modifications at the Adirondack Scenic Railroad's Engine house, the caboose moved over the Mowhawk, Adirondack, and Northern Railroad from Rome to Utica on Friday, September 22. As of Wednesday, September 27, it is still sitting in the MA&N railroad yard near the Utica Union Station. Moving the caboose (September 28, 2006 - October 12, 2006) On Thursday night, September 28, 2006, the caboose was placed in the interchange lineup for CSX. This was reported by Conductor Don of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad; Don reports having snapped a picture of the caboose in the middle of a train. Thanks to Don for his detective work. It arrived in Syracuse, NY (CSX only picks up going west) at 5:04pm on Friday, September 29, according to CSX's automated car tracing phone system. As of Sunday night, October 1, at 8:00pm, there is no further information on the location of the caboose. Maybe it's wandering aimlessly around the Dewitt yard in Syracuse. Update as of Tuesday, October 3: We found out about some interesting information. The caboose is being stored 4th from the east end on Track 13. It is now listed as a high-wide load for some unknown reason; apparently, its "class code" in the computer outweighs common sense, which would tell you that this is a caboose, not an over-dimension car. It is also listed as a "Cash" car for some unknown reason, which means that it cannot move until paid for. Of course, we all know it was paid for back in July. Therefore, a multitude of telephone calls will have to be executed tomorrow so CSX can update the computer that seems to be delaying the move. Looks like those few of you who voted for CSX in the delay poll might be in the lead. Before dawn on Saturday, October 7, the caboose left Syracuse for Buffalo -- yes, Buffalo -- arriving around noontime, according to CSX's computer. I received a call on Friday from CSX in which they advised me that, in order to expedite the move, they would be routing it to Buffalo and putting it on a train that heads directly to interchange with Guilford without any switching or stopping in any yards. It is scheduled to arrive on Monday afternoon at Rotterdam Jct. To my surprise and great pleasure, we received a digital photo of the caboose in the yard at Buffalo (see photos below). Many thanks to Brenda Potter Reynolds for sending in the picture! When the caboose arrived in Buffalo, it was once again classified as an overdimensioned car and was delayed in the yard. After a few more phone calls, it left Buffalo headed east at last. While CSX's tracing line still indicated an expected interchange at Rotterdam Jct. initially, it soon changed to indicate Selkirk. Avoiding Selkirk had been the point of sending the caboose via Buffalo in the first place. After the caboose arrived in Selkirk, another set of calls was needed but, as of Thursday, October 12, the caboose arrived in Springfield, MA, to be handed off to Guilford. Pictures of the train in Springfield were captured by Adam Sullivan (amsphotography.fotopic.net). Oddly enough, CSX's car tracing line reported that the caboose is in Portland, Maine! Evidently, the removal of the caboose from the train in Springfield was not noticed. CSX had control of the car from the night of September 28 to the afternoon of October 12 -- about 15 days. That's an average of about 11 miles per day. Based on a rate of $948, we paid about $5.75 per mile. Thanks to Paul Hayhurst for sending pictures of the caboose on its own in Springfield waiting to be accepted by Guilford. Moving the caboose - Springfield Terminal (October 13, 2006 - November 6, 2006) The caboose sat waiting for inspection from October 12 until October 20. A Guilford spokesman promised a move on Friday or Saturday (Oct 20 or 21) from West Springfield to East Deerfield. As you can see from the pictures below titled "Second Week in Springfield", we were let down again. Not only that, an overdimensioned shifted load car of poles has been placed just ahead of the back door of the caboose. A hard hitch, slack action, or a hump move will send these poles through the back door of the caboose. Adding to the dilemma, the worst week of the leaf season, where leaves create grease on the rails -- that allows the wheels to slide, causing flat spots -- is now here. Also, the coming week is notorious for the most vandalism along the railroads due to Halloween. Keep in mind this movement was paid for back in July, as they wanted their money up front. The caboose moved from West Springfield, MA to East Deerfield, MA and from East Deerfield to Nashua, NH, all in 13 hours starting on Saturday, November 4, 2006. This move was executed with the help of a special friend, otherwise the car would probably still be there. On Sunday, November 5, it sat in Nashua Yard awaiting movement to Manchester on the local freight the following day. On Tuesday, November 7 at 2:30pm, we were informed by Pete of the New England Southern Railroad that they had picked up the caboose and were heading north to Concord, NH, spotting the caboose around 4:00p. So, to summarize, a trip of approximately 150 miles took 25 days, an average of 6 miles per day, about half the average we achieved on CSX. Based on a rate of $1,285, we paid about $8.57 per mile. Moving the caboose - New England Southern Railroad (November 7, 2006 - December 2, 2006) Wednesday morning, November 8, 2006, we began extensive renovations of the interior of the caboose at its temporary location in Concord Yard. The caboose was located on a lumber company spur and coupled to the former Milford & Bennington caboose which is also undergoing renovations and will be moved to the caboose train in Tilton. The caboose will spend about a week and a half there before movement to Tilton, NH. It will then move to Lincoln, NH, for pickup by the Hobo Railroad at a future date for transport to Lincoln, NH. We would like to thank Peter of the New England Southern for his hospitality and for going above and beyond the call of duty. On Thursday, November 16, the caboose was moved by the New England Southern Railroad from Concord to an industrial spur near Tilton, NH. On the weekend of November 18, more re-wiring, generator testing, and cleaning was done in preparation for an upcoming ride. Roller bearing brackets and new brake shoes were installed. Hobo Railroad (December 3, 2006 - ) On December 3, the caboose took the final leg of its trip to Lincoln during a caboose train movement. Despite the cold, the weather was beautiful, with crisp blue skies and moonlight nights. One could see the Christmas lights as we passed the small towns as people ran to their windows to wave. At around 10pm on Sunday night, we arrived at our destination, Lincoln, NH, where the caboose was placed in front of the engine house, awiting its turn in the shop, thus ending the long, tedious movement of the caboose. Happy Holidays. We will return with more updates in the spring!

About our Caboose

Read the story behind our caboose, Rutland 51, formerly CN 79775. ...

Updated: Jun 07, 2009 9:12am PST

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