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.
Monongahela Railway 69, 70
In 1949, the Monongahela Railway (MGA) purchased ten steel cabooses from International Car Company in Kenton, Ohio (builders of our own P&LE 518). These were the railroad’s first all-steel, and last cupola style cabooses. Today, two of them, #69 and #70, rest outside the former Pittsburgh & Lake Erie (P&LE) and Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Union Station in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Number 70’s road number is still visible under its last coat of paint.
Union Station’s New Life
At first glance, the former P&LE / B&O station blends into the streetscape of New Castle. It’s a simple red-brick building that could easily be mistaken for just another random storefront. Yet on closer inspection, its roots become quite clear. The most telling clue is the platform canopy that runs alongside the building. It’s fun to imagine the decades of passenger trains that arrived and departed on the rails that have been long since removed. Behind the station, MGA 69, 70 stand as appropriate symbols of the building’s railroading legacy. Today, the site has a new life as the New Castle Union Station Craft Distillery, a local entertainment spot that craft small-batch bourbon, rye, and rum.
Monongahela Railway 66
MGA 66 sits on display outside Larry’s Truck Electric in Warren, Ohio. It’s paired up with an interesting old two-axle diesel switcher. At first glance, the exhibit appears to be a well landscaped tribute to the company’s work. But take a closer look, and the illusion gives way to heartbreak. Despite LTE’s clear effort to present the display with dignity, vandals have left their mark. There’s no graffiti, surprisingly, but every window is gone, leaving the car’s interior exposed to the elements and anyone willing to crawl inside. Standing outside the car we could smell the filth and decay. From the car’s platform, the stench of urine was almost overpowering. No one showed any interest in stepping inside, not that we could anyway, the floor was covered in trash.
As for that heartbreak I mentioned earlier, the caboose was intended as a memorial to LTE’s founder, Lazarus Larry Bakeris. Unfortunately, given the location, efforts to restore or even clean up this car would likely be undone almost immediately.
For my fellow caboose aficionados, MRY 66 no longer rests on its original trucks, and the only remaining trace we could find of its Monongahela lineage are the faded digits “66” painted inside the cupola.
Other Surviving Monongahela Railway Cabooses
| Number | Notes | Last Known Location |
|---|---|---|
| 64 | National Pike Steam, Gas & Horse Assn | West Brownsville, PA |
| 65 | Scrapped? | |
| 66 | Larry’s Truck Electric Co. | Warren, OH |
| 67 | Stewartstown Railroad | Stewartstown, PA |
| 68 | C&O freight depot | Ashland, KY |
| 69 | Union Station | New Castle, PA |
| 70 | Union Station | New Castle, PA |
| 71 | Monongahela Transportation Museum | Brownsville, PA |
| 72 | Judson Building Supply Co. | Washington, PA |
| 73 | Pennsylvania Trolley Museum | Washington, PA |
| This is a work in progress. Please send us additions and corrections |
Cabooses are more than artifacts, they’re storytellers. In towns like New Castle and Warren, they might even be ambassadors of history. In the right hands, and plenty of money, they can even become magnets for history buffs and curious travelers. As for MRY 66, 69, and 70, we’ll keep watching, hoping their next chapter is a rebirth as remarkable as the miles they’ve already logged.