Farmhouse Magic Blog did a story back in 2019 about Herndon’s Red Caboose so today’s blog is a follow-up piece with a little more information on the topic.
At first it seems an odd location but when you look back into early Herndon history, trains shipped out the area’s dairy milk. from downtown Herndon.
Herndon’s Red Caboose sits among some colorful fall trees in the photograph below.
Brief History of Herndon’s Red Caboose
The red caboose with a cupola on top was the idea of George Moore of the Herndon Historical Society.
In 1986, the Herndon Historical Society set up a committee to get a rail company to donate a 1949 Class A Center Style Cupola Caboose.
The caboose came from the Norfolk & Southern Railway. It took a lot of people, planning and coordination to get the caboose to its present location on Lynn Street.
Public Works, also, prepared a section of railroad track to securely place the caboose on. Crusted stone was used on the track bed.
When the caboose came to Herndon, a crew of gandy dancers, or railroad workers, safely put the caboose on the prepared track.
But that was not the end of things, the caboose was reconditioned inside and out.
The exterior was power washed, primed, painted and stenciled. Some windows were replaced/waterproofed, ladder guards added, and a caboose stove was installed.
Presently, Herndon’s red caboose is on Lynn Street in the Herndon Caboose Park. It weighs 45,300 pounds, is 37 feet long and 10 feet wide.
Herndon Historical Society’s caboose dedication ceremony was on April 21, 1990.
Herndon’s red caboose is a popular local attraction. Climb up the ladder and look inside the window. On special days, the caboose is open for tours.
The restoration and relocation of the caboose gives it life for future generations to enjoy.
What is a Caboose?
Cabooses are manned railroad cars and the train’s office. Conductors fill out waybills, content, mileage, and the weight of each train car so the caboose was the perfect place to get this work done.
When the train was running, brakemen would also work in the caboose.
Cabooses have bunkers, lockers and stoves to cook meals. The caboose was the last car on the train and often red.
What is a Gandy Dancer?
For Your Information – Gandy dancers is the nickname given to early railroad workers who laid railroad tracks and maintained them. The work was hard manual labor but gandy dancers were eventually replaced by machines.
Wikipedia, Community Corner, “Herndon Caboose Park on Lynn Street”, and “The Caboose Comes to Herndon” by Barbara Glakas resources were used to research today’s blog.