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”
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”
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”
The final whistle of spring is sounding—daffodils have rolled into the siding, making way for mayapples to take the mainline as the new stars of the show. The sun-stretched days are picking up speed, and soon, summer’s heat will be laying heavy on the rails.
Continue reading “Spring’s Symphony: Trains, Blooms & Renovation News”
Not every relic in the woods is lost. Some are just waiting to be remembered.
Continue reading “The Forgotten Mile: A Marker Without a Map”
There aren’t a lot of things as thrilling as uncovering a long-lost piece of history, especially when it involves one of the cars here at Caboose Falls. Thanks to railfan and super-sleuth Robert Bogie, we now have a remarkable addition to our archive: an image of Pittsburgh & Lake Erie (P&LE) Caboose #518 in its original configuration and second paint scheme!
Continue reading “A Rare Glimpse into History: P&LE 518 in Century Green”
We arrived at Caboose Falls with tools and gloves, ready for a day of work. But our plans were quickly switched onto a different track.
Continue reading “What the Rain Revealed: Unplanned History Lessons”