There was no reason to suspect our little railroad haven had been violated. The day started like any other at Caboose Falls. We began our routine with a quick sweep of the platform and a walk of the trails to clear sticks and branches. It wasn’t until we stepped into the atrium that the first flicker of suspicion was ignited.
We had that gut feeling, the one you get when something’s off on your train, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. A few items were subtly out of place. Our first thought was that a raccoon snuck in. But the clues started taking us down a different track.
The door to Caboose 565 was slightly ajar. Inside, a cabinet door was swung wide. Then we discovered the biggest clue of all , the door latch had been forced and broken. Certainly not the work of a raccoon. The evidence now pointed squarely at a human intruder.
Inside the car, the thief made off with our sleeping bags and some camping gear. Outside they stole our fleet of bicycles. But a mystery remained, how did they get all of this out through a locked gate?
As we waited for the authorities to arrive, we found our answer. The lock on our people gate was missing. This was the specific lock we’d been required to install at the direction of Penn Power. It was needed, they said, so their crews could maintain the transmission lines. It wasn’t surprising to see evidence of their recent killing of trees inside the fence line; thank you, Penn Power.
Piecing it all together, the “Great Train Robbery” of Caboose Falls wasn’t the work of animals or even master criminals. This was a crime of opportunity, created through negligence and a policy that gives subcontractors access to private property without oversight or, as we now suspect, proper vetting. One or more of their workers broke into our caboose, stole our property, and deliberately left the gate unlocked for a clean getaway.
Needless to say, the idea of a Penn Power lock has been permanently “bad ordered” and will not return to our operations.
In the end, while it was a huge violation of our space and a lasting hassle to overcome, we’re taking it in stride. The crime was too small for a manhunt, and honestly, the bikes weren’t that great anyway. Our cabooses still stand, and our spirits aren’t so easily stolen. But our trust in Penn Power? That has been completely derailed.