1910 Caboose rolls into new home at Castanea Train Station
Photos By Christopher Miller
by Christopher Miller
CASTANEA, PA – It’s not everyday you see a 39,000 pound turn-of-the-century caboose rolling down the road, but this morning that very thing happened in Castanea.
A restored circa 1910 wooden caboose that ran on the New York Central line and through this area was delivered Tuesday morning to great fanfare and volunteer efforts at the old train station.
“We were able to secure another caboose through generous donations of time and money for the enjoyment of those visiting the Castanea Train Station and Bald Eagle Valley Trail,” said Clinton County Historical Society Board President Bonnie Hannis. “It is a real gem that we could not pass up.”
The caboose, which will undergo additional renovations to be used as an AirBnB-style weekend getaway rental, is located at the Castanea Train Station, 15 Logan Avenue in Lock Haven (Castanea).
The existing 1941 metal caboose can sleep two comfortably and is fully equipped with a microwave, refrigerator, full bathroom, and wireless internet. It can be reserved by going to www.airbnb.com/h/caboose.
“It will be a couple years before the 1910 caboose will be ready for occupancy,” Bonnie said.
An information sheet (below) about the history of the caboose was shared with the press.
New York Central wooden caboose built 1910-1911
This was the last wooden car to go up the Pine Creek Valley in 1963 when the line was discontinued. The caboose sat on property near the Cammal Station for 10 years or more. It was then moved to Centre Hall (with the cupola removed for it to make the trip under the RR bridge on Rt 220) for possible use as a restaurant, where it sat for several more years. Luther Gette hoped to move it to Philipsburg, PA and when that plan did not materialize, Gette and John Gummo made the suggestion it could be restored and moved to the Castanea Train Station where it joined a 1941 Pennsylvania Railroad Metal Caboose, and a 1953 Erie Box Car that was put out of use after the Agnes Flood in 1972. The box car is one of the few from that era that remains intact.
This rolling stock joins the Castanea Station built in the early 1880’s for the Beech Creek, Clearfield and Southwestern Railroad for freight service. Passenger service was added in 1884. In 1895, 6,000 cars passed this station each week and served 600 passengers a day, making an important contribution to the local economy. Lumber, clay, farm produce, fire brick and general merchandise made up the freight. The BCCS RR was owned by the Vanderbilts. In 1889 it became part of the New York Central System, and for a short time before the rail line was closed, New York Central and Pennsylvania RR’s merged.
The Station now houses the Clinton Central Model RR Club that has a computer-controlled model train set-up that is open during the winter months for viewing; a great opportunity to teach youngsters the history of railroading. There is a replica water tower built from original plans by Keystone Vo-Tech students that is an information kiosk on local places and events and local transportation history. The property also serves as a trailhead for the Bald Eagle Valley Trail, a walking, biking, birding, nature trail on the old railroad bed that will connect to the Pine Creek Trail in the near future.
