Looking like it’s still in service, this caboose is part 8 of our series highlighting the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s Places in Peril program. In our case it’s some of our equipment, not the museum itself. The Trust’s program exemplifies what can be accomplished when something needs a little work, and encourages community and corporate investment, education, restoration, and historic preservation.
The steel class M6 caboose was rebuilt in 1970 and donated in 1997. The main components of the Family Lines were the Louisville & Nashville, the Clinchfield, and the Seaboard Coastline. Basically intact, the car can usually be seen on the end of a short freight train on our Track 14 and can be open for touring on occasion.
The caboose offered end of train crew shelter for crew needed in lineside switching as well as in keeping a lookout for shifting loads, damages and overheating axles. The car served as an office for the conductor and often featured a stove and a place for a nap.
You can touch it, peek inside the rolling office, look underneath, and wonder what it was like to ride and work in the car. The car could use interior cleaning and paint, exterior paint, and general light repairs – better sooner than later. We invite you to participate with us as we prepare the museum for generations to come.
For information on how you can donate, the benefits of branded corporate and/or foundation project sponsorships, and how your gift could develop career-enhancing skills for our volunteers, please write to: execdirector@train-museum.com. Thank you!
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