There’s something poetic about old cabooses. Some are polished like trophies. Others rot quietly, waiting for someone to notice them before they vanish. And then there are the ones you stumble upon by pure luck, like winning the caboose lottery. We saw it all in our recent day trip of hunting captive cabooses near Cleveland.
First Stop: Bay Village, Ohio – The Old Warrior
Our first caboose of the day sat just a short walk from Lake Erie’s southern shore—Norfolk & Western 518368, a CF Class wooden caboose. Tucked away in Bay Village, the car looked like a time capsule that had been left out in the weather for decades. Built in 1923, it bears the scars of history: peeling paint, soft wood, and rust. The poling pockets were the dead giveaway this isn’t some modern imposter. Sadly, it seems as though time is winning its fight with this old car. Even so, there’s something left to enjoy. Learn more about N&W 518368 here.
Second Stop: Avon, Ohio – The Anonymous Relic
Next up was an unmarked wooden caboose, tucked away within a boutique shopping plaza in Avon, Ohio. No couplers. Missing suspension springs. Wood so rotten you could poke a hole through it with your finger. The only hint of its former life? The B&O markings still cast into the trucks. This was the kind of caboose that makes you sigh and say to yourself, “Someone ought to save this thing…” After a bit of research we discovered this car’s identity: B&O C-398, a Class I-1 caboose that’s been clinging to existence since retirement back in 1967.
Third Stop: Lorain, Ohio – The Phoenix
Then we saw it—Lorain’s resurrected B&O bay-window caboose, gleaming in fresh blue paint under the dreary Ohio sky. The Capitol Dome logos were sharp enough to cut glass, and not a trace of rust was on this car. The group responsible for this didn’t just fix B&O C-3855—they brought a piece of history back to life. They turned back the clock so thoroughly, I caught myself glancing around for a conductor to step out, adjust his cap, and ask if we’d seen his timetable.
The Bonus Round: Great Gift of Grafton
A wrong turn took us to Grafton, Ohio—and straight to an amazing yellow caboose. At the corner of Main and Railroad Streets stood a former B&O 1-12 wagon-top caboose, now decked out in Chessie System colors. C-2432 looked almost alive, her interior perfectly preserved and her paint gleaming. She even still had her caboose whistle! Finding a wagon-top in this kind of shape felt like stumbling upon a railroad unicorn.
The Caboose Moral of the Story
This trip had it all:
- The Fading (Bay Village)
- The Forgotten (Avon)
- The Restored (Lorain)
- The Lucky Find (Grafton)
It’s a weirdly perfect metaphor for railfanning itself. Some relics disappear before we can save them. Others get second lives. And if you’re lucky, sometimes you round a corner and history winks at you in Chessie yellow.
So, who’s up for a caboose chase? Just remember: The wrong turn might be the best part.