One of our first projects has been support for the restoration of a historic wooden caboose, rescued in June, 2007 from the woods outside Mount Shasta where it had been slowly deteriorating for many years. The caboose was built in 1930 by the Great Northern Railway at its St. Cloud, Minnesota shops and numbered X746. It was operated by the GN until it was sold to the McCloud River Railway in August of 1956 (the Great Northern's Bieber line formerly connected with the McCloud River at Lookout, CA). Renumbered #34 by McCloud, the caboose stayed in service until 1963 when it was retired. It was equipped with brass whistles for the long back-up moves required due to the switchback between McCloud and Mount Shasta.
sketch of caboose by Holly
The caboose had been owned by the Jim Nile family of Mt. Shasta and used as a cabin. Several attempts to donate or sell it fell through, in large part due to its difficult-to-access location far up a Forest Service road along the McCloud tracks. It had been donated to the Shasta-Cascade Rail Preservation Society (www.scrps.com) in Redding, CA and SCRPS agreed to give it to a BBCRC board member based on our commitment to move and restore it. SCRPS chairperson, Matt Shuman helped facilitate the process. Rails and ties were donated by the Central Oregon and Pacific Railway. The challenging move was carried off by Carlton Enterprises of Burney, CA in a very professional manner and at a concessional price. Thanks to everyone who helped facilitate the move!
Through the pages below, you can see some early shots of the caboose, the move to Black Butte in 2007, and photos and information on the ongoing restoration process. Our Links page includes websites with additional info on Great Northern and McCloud River Railroad history and cabooses.
photo of caboose window by Toby Hardman
- early photos of the caboose on Jeff Moore's website (late 1950's)
- recent photos of the caboose (October 1995)
- winterizing the caboose (November 2006)
- preparations for the move (May 2007)
- the initial caboose move on Marty Nile's website (June 2007)
- the delivery of the caboose (June 2007)
- Michael Ismerio's photos of the caboose move (June 2007)
- an article about the caboose move written by Earl Bolender for the Mt. Shasta (CA) Herald (June 2007)
- photos taken during the initial rehabilitation period (Summer 2007)
- photos taken during the second rehabilitation period (Summer 2008)
- photos taken during the third rehabilitation period (Summer 2009/2010)