THE LITTLE RED CABOOSE

[crazyphil]

Yesterday's Idaho Statesman had a story about an old red caboose.
The Nampa, Idaho railroad museum, at the depot,
is rehabbing the old caboose for another museum display.

I sent a letter to the editor thanking them for the story because
it brought back a pleasant memory for me.

It was 1943. My Dad was an employee of the Union Pacific.
We lived right next to the railroad tracks. A little freight train
would go by every morning and return every afternoon.

One day my mother took me (age 8), my sister (age 12) and
my infant brother for a ride on the little red caboose. We lived
in Pingree, Idaho (population 51). We rode from Pingree to
Aberdeen. Only about 20 miles, but we also rode back so it
was twice that. A real big deal for an 8 year old boy.

I don't know if it was customary for freight trains to carry
passengers in the caboose, or if just a favor for an employee's
family, but it's a pleasant memory.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Hey Phil -
You do know we need pictures?
We always need pictures, but when it’s old trains,
We Really Need Pictures!

 

[crazyphil]

Hey Phil -
You do know we need pictures?
We always need pictures, but when it’s old trains,
We Really Need Pictures!

They aren't quit finished with the rehab yet,
but when they are I will try to get over to Nampa
to see it, and I will take my camera.

 

[Muley Gil]

I lived near the Penn RR growing up. We would on occasion go down and put a penny on the track to get smoshed. There has a service road along side the tracks and we would ride our bikes there. Sometimes we would shout at the caboose, "Throw us some flares!" Often, the crew would throw some.

There were also a few places where we could shoot our .22 rifles. Alas, now the tracks are fenced off and subdivisions have replaced our shooting spots. Hadn't been back in over 10 years. Probably won't make many trips back there. My oldest friend (he's my age and we meet in the first grade; been knowing each other for 57 years) still lives there, but he is looking for a spot here in the mountains when he retires.

 

[shouldazagged]

I miss cabooses. Knowing that they are now superfluous, and why, doesn't help a bit.

(Someone bought one here and built a liquor store in it. Naturally, it's called "The Cabooze".)

I might as well face it. What I miss is all the romance of steam-locomotive railroading as it was practiced during and after World War II, when I was a boy in awe of every part of it.

 

[brjr51]

"Mixed" trains were pretty common on branch lines up through the 50's. Carried both freight and passenger, sometimes in a specialized combination coach/caboose and other times in just the caboose, depending on ridership.

 

[Frank46]

My Dad worked for the Long Island RR and every so often he'd get passes to either Honesdale,Pennsylvania where my Mom had family or to Saint Petersberg, Florida. Honesdale was farm country and one of my uncles had a large dairy farm 160 acres. Florida was where one of Mom's friends had retired to with her welsh husband. He'd fought with the British in WWI. Has a hard time understanding him as he had a welsh accent you could have cut with a knife. I have his two pieces of WWI trench art. Both made from 75mm case heads. All of them are gone now but still have the memories. Frank

 

[Dennis]

Union Pacific came through Montour, Idaho twice a day when I was growing up there. Born 1952, went into the Corps in '71. I remember the cabooses quite well.
When the engine was throwin snow with the snowplow was always fun to watch.
Memories.... Good ones...

 

[crazyphil]

Union Pacific came through Montour, Idaho twice a day when I was growing up there. Born 1952, went into the Corps in '71. I remember the cabooses quite well.
When the engine was throwin snow with the snowplow was always fun to watch.
Memories.... Good ones...

That line was in operation for over a hundred years. Mostly by
the Union Pacific, but in recent years a privately owned company
called the Thunder Mountain Line. Google the Thunder Mountain
Line Pumpkin Train. Very interesting.
We took our great-granddaughter on the Thunder Mountain train
ride many years ago. Very enjoyable.
Unfortunately they ceased operations after the 2016 season
for lack of riders.

 

[perryhd]

The rail line that was maybe 200 ft. from the back door of the house I was raised in is now a jogging, biking trail. I can still remember how disappointed I was when they stopped running steam engines on that line.

 

[Doug627]

"Little Red Caboose," wasn't that a Prince song?

 

[the ringo kid]

Ya know-one of the types of threads I follow-are those about trains--Westerns and such is another. )))

 

[ParadiseRoad]

...I've always been a rail fan...and a caboose fan...here are some I have visited...

...Tiny Town Colorado...

...Buena Vista Colorado...

...Ridgway Colorado...

...Colorado Railroad Museum...Golden Colorado...

...Gallitzin Pennsylvania...

...Silverplume Colorado...

...Georgetown Colorado...

...Chama New Mexico...

...Silverton Colorado...

...Madison Indiana...

 

[crazyphil]

...I've always been a rail fan...and a caboose fan...here are some I have visited...

...Tiny Town Colorado...

...Buena Vista Colorado...

...Ridgway Colorado...

...Colorado Railroad Museum...Golden Colorado...

...Gallitzin Pennsylvania...

...Silverplume Colorado...

...Georgetown Colorado...

...Chama New Mexico...

...Silverton Colorado...

...Madison Indiana...

Beautiful photography. Thanks for sharing.

 

[ParadiseRoad]

Beautiful photography. Thanks for sharing.

...I pulled these photos from the internet...I do have personal photos of all of these...and many more...but they are on several hard drives and other devices and would take a while to find...

 

[ParadiseRoad]

...a few old caboose photos showing men at work...

 

[Mack_C85]

When near Lancaster County, PA.....head to a steam train ride in Strasburg, PA then to the nearby Red Caboose motel, in Ronks, where the rooms are rehabbed cabooses.

Sent from my SM-J320P using Tapatalk

 

[crazyphil]

...a few old caboose photos showing men at work...

They all look like they are working very hard.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

The inside of the caboose looks a lot like a deer camp!

 

[ParadiseRoad]

They all look like they are working very hard.

...pretty cushy job...until they break an air hose or a coupler knuckle some where in the middle of the train on a below zero blizzard night...then they need to go out...find the problem...and fix it with parts and tools carried from the caboose...