A little railroad in the woods
Some of the best treasures are found when you least expect them. Recently, our boys took their grandfather on a hike through the main ravine at Caboose Falls. While exploring, they spotted a glint of glass half-buried in the earth. Finding bits of glass isn’t unusual here, but this time it was more than a fragment; it was an entire bottle.
Our ongoing mission to improve safety and spruce up the place is a labor of love, and this past week was a wonderfully productive one, full of heavy repairs, unexpected wildlife, and a surprising new pastime.
Continue reading “Ties, Hinges, and Crawler Things”
If you’re a fan of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, you know one thing for certain: good photography of their transfer cabooses is rare. The gritty work of these cars kept them away from the spotlight.
Continue reading “P&LE 565: Caught in the Wild”
There’s nothing quite like stumbling upon a vintage caboose. For us, they are like time machines taking us back to the ‘good-old-days’ of railroading. Recently our travels, crossed paths with three Monongahela Railway survivors: #69 and #70 standing sentry in New Castle, Pennsylvania, and #66 in Warren, Ohio.
Continue reading “Field Trip: Monongahela Railway Cabooses”
Heavy rain transformed Caboose Falls into a classroom again this week, offering all of us a firsthand look at how water moves across the property. While the downpour kept us tucked inside the cabooses much of the day, a few very brief breaks in the downpour revealed some problems.
Continue reading “The Downpour Diaries: Why We’re Grateful for a Soggy Week”Beyond Caboose Falls—Preserving the Stories Behind Cabooses
We’ve added a new page to our website dedicated to the nicknames and slang used by railroad crews who worked in cabooses.
Continue reading “New on the Site: Celebrating Caboose History”
Forget calling our P&LE 518 just ‘some old caboose.’ This car is a railroad legend with a surprising talent for disguise! Need proof? Just look inside Dwight Jones’s definitive work, C&O/B&O Cabooses – Display and Private Owner Cars (Vol. 4). There it is, a veteran of the New York Central System, comfortably nestled among cabooses from rival line Baltimore & Ohio! This unexpected cameo perfectly captures why 518 is such a fascinating railroading character.
Continue reading “P&LE 518: Master of Disguise & Bookworm”
Memorial Day at Caboose Falls was a mix of work and time spent with family—and for readers of this blog, you know that’s exactly what makes this place special.
Continue reading “Slow and Steady”We’ve just added some wonderful new poems to our railroad poetry archive—each one a little journey in itself. You’ll find everything from the gritty romance of steam engines to the quiet melancholy of midnight freight trains. Take a moment to explore the new additions—maybe you’ll discover a new favorite. Check out the poems here.