Back on track and ready to roll

Published 4:36 pm Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Technology made it obsolete two decades ago, but soon it will seem indispensable to fans of railroad nostalgia.

The item is a freight caboose that stood silently but imposingly on the Union County Fairgrounds for about 15 years. The caboose was moved last weekend to Elgin, where it will be attached to the Eagle Cap Excursion Train. The excursion train operates on a 63-mile long railroad, linking Elgin, Wallowa, Enterprise and Joseph.

The train’s riders will likely flock to the caboose once it is added.

“Cabooses are a very popular part of other excursion trains. They are a choice spot,” said David Arnold, a conductor with the Wallowa Union Railroad and vice president of Friends of the Joseph Branch, which runs the Eagle Cap Excursion Train.

Cabooses are popular in part because they symbolize a cherished, bygone railroad era. Cabooses had been an integral part of trains since the early 1800s before they were phased out in the 1980s, replaced by remote radio-control devices. The computerized equipment streamlined railroads, allowing operators to run trains less expensively with fewer people.

The Union County Fair Board provided the caboose free to the Friends of the Joseph Branch. The organization did have to pay the cost of moving the 57,500- pound caboose to Elgin. The caboose was moved by Sierra Crane and Towing of La Grande.

The Union County Fair Board no longer wanted the caboose because it could not afford to keep it open. People had to be present to monitor the caboose when it was open due to liability issues. The caboose thus had to be locked up most of the year.

“We were not able to use it,” said Val Stockhoff, president of the Union County Fair Board.

Stockhoff said she is delighted that the caboose will stay in the area.

“Now it will able to be enjoyed by the public rather than sit at the fairgrounds locked up,” Stockhoff said.

The caboose, constructed in 1967, may be running with the excursion train by late August after the caboose is inspected and repair work is done. It is anticipated that only minor maintenance work will be needed.

“It’s in good condition,” Arnold said.

He credits this to good sealants and its steel composition.

The caboose’s many features include a cupola, an elevated viewing area used by crew members to view the entire train and spot problems. Arnold knows the cupola will be popular among excursion train riders.

“It will let you see the train from a unique perspective,” he said. “People will love to go up there.”

The rail car’s other features reflect that cabooses once served as living quarters for crew members during long trips.

“They were a home away from home,” Arnold said.

The interior of the excursion train’s 41-year-old caboose has benches that can be converted into bunk beds, an oil-burning stove, an ice box, a bathroom and more.

Members of the Friends of the Joseph Branch feel lucky to be adding the caboose.

“We feel very fortunate. There are not a lot of cabooses around, and the ones which are not expensive are run down,” Arnold said. “This is quite a fit.”

The conductor believes that people of all generations will embrace the caboose. This includes children who have never seen cabooses run but are interested in them after seeing them in popular movies.

“It’s a piece of living history,” Arnold said.