Category Archives: Caboose Project and Other Trains

We are making progress on several backyard projects, including WP668, our
caboose. Yesterday, the San Jose building department gave permission for
John to apply for a permit to build the stairs and attach the electrical
to WP668. (Yes, it took weeks to get permission to apply for permission.) He goes to
City Hall on Wednesday. Yesterday too, our contractor who will use that permit to
build the caboose stairs finished his other project: putting stucco on our cabana.
John designed and built the cabana in 2000 when we needed more
space for the pool equipment and towels. It still holds towels and chemicals for
the hot tub (since the pool was replaced with a caboose) plus other stuff that has
no better storage location, like our scuba diving tanks, suits, and gear. It took years
to find a contractor who was good enough with stucco to match the surface pattern of
our 75-year-old Spanish Mission Revival stucco house and who was also willing
to take on a tiny job like the cabana. The stucco is still drying but in a few weeks,
we will paint the cabana to match the house.

Here are some current WP668 photos. Also, since WP668 lives in our garden,
here are more plant photos:

WP668 caboose:

WP668 caboose:

My favorite rose, Chrystler Imperial:

Crown of thorns euphorbia:

Prickly pear cactus fruit:

Pricky pear cactus fruit, dracena:

Front porch succulent:

Blue Plumbago:

Barbara Karst bougainvillea vine:

Asperagus fern aloe, cactus:

Vanderbeck ball, Bomberger cat, aloe, cactus:

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Blue rosemary growing over wall:

Echeveria Succulents and stones:

Images Copyright 2007 by Katy Dickinson

We are still working with San Jose City Hall to get the
building permit for the steps and electrical hook up for
WP668, our backyard caboose. John has been to the Building
Department 3 times in the last week, before and after work.
John rebuilt the steel and wood of one caboose end landing to connect to
the to-be-built regular-steps-with-handrail-and-balusters; he is also
almost done rebuilding the second landing which will retain its original
steel steps. We have the plans, we have the builder, we have the caboose
painted, we have rebuilt the landing, we are now waiting for official
approval to start.

Yesterday, we spent the evening getting WP668 ready for the
possibility of rain. All of the paint and construction tools and
supplies are under cover now. I have collected most of the bolt ends
and rusted bits of original 1916 caboose replaced during restoration to give
away as souvenirs when we have our caboose warming party. Yesterday, we
also stopped by to talk with the welder who is going to rebuild WP668’s
bay window frame. He may be available next Saturday.

The happy news is that John talked with the
Portola Railroad Museum
(also known as the Western Pacific Railroad Museum) and they told
him where they buy WP decals: the
Borden Decal Co. Borden still makes the decals for the railroads.
Here a small size reproduction of the WP logo we need:

Image Copyright 2007 by Katy Dickinson

We have reached a place in the restoration of WP668, our backyard caboose,
where more detailed historic information would help us make decisions. Also,
we need patterns for the Western Pacific logo and other body markings.
Fortunately, we live a mere 262 miles from the

Western Pacific Railroad Museum in

Portola, California on the Feather River. Portola
is north and slightly west of Lake Tahoe. Now would be a good time for
a weekend trip: it is almost my birthday, too early for much snow on
Donner Pass, and even better, a
Rail Photography Day is scheduled at the museum on 29 September, 2007.

The museum will operate prototypical freight and passenger trains on our track for the benefit of photographers. This is a great opportunity to view and photograph many of the new items which the museum has acquired over the last few years. The museum roster currently includes over 40 locomotives and over 100 cabooses, freight and passenger cars.

John and I are trying to sort out our schedule to see if we can go!

We painted the yellow trim on WP668 last weekend. The handrails and
grip bars at either end of our 1916 backyard caboose will be classic mustard yellow.
Painting bright yellow over rust brown takes lots of blue masking tape and several
coats but the results are worthwhile. We will paint at least one more yellow coat on
each end next weekend.

We found that we have one original 14″ diameter brake wheel
and one similar but not original-to-that-purpose 15-1/2″ wheel on the other end.
It is not likely that we will ever find an exact original match, so John
is going to rework what we have. Both wheels came with WP668.

WP668 before yellow trim:

WP668 yellow trim paint:

WP668 yellow trim paint:

WP668 unpainted wheel top:

WP668 unpainted wheel reverse:

WP668 original wheel top:

WP668 original wheel reverse:

Images Copyright 2007 by Katy Dickinson

Our new Etheric Networks radio

broadband point-to-point high speed internet installed yesterday
replaced the non-functional DSL we had at home. So, I can share caboose
photos now (uploading images was not possible using our old
DSL). We have been having WP668 painted in our San Jose backyard
for the last three weeks.

History has left its mark on WP668 in the last 91 years:

• From the bent and cracked steel on one end, it looks like she was in a collision at some point.
• Near one door, there are initials carved into the wood.
• In several places the steel is molded with the script letters:
  ILLINOIS. G. U.S.A.
• Many metal parts have dates molded in – as early as 1916. The most recent
  date is on the air brake tank. This painted with the date 8-7-74
  (probably from her last inspection before being taken out of service)

UPRR red and green marker light:

WP668 caboose marked 1974:

steel marking ILLINOIS. G. U.S.A.:

WP668 2005 in San Francisco:

WP668 2005 in San Francisco:

WP668 caboose carved letters:

WP668 after paint removal:

WP668 landing roof boards removed:

WP668 rusted steel:

WP668 1st new paint on steel:

WP668 1st new paint on wood:

WP668 filling holes and cracks:

WP668 original WPFRR sign:

reproduction WPFRR sign:

WP668 pink primer paint coat:

WP668 painter:

WP668 step restoration:

John cutting steel:

John polishing steel:

WP668 inside:

WP668 new door trim:

WP668 with 2 new coats of paint:

Images Copyright 2005-2007 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Our 91-year-old backyard caboose, WP668, has just been newly painted on the
outside. This is her first complete and professional painting in about
50 years. WP668 is a 1916 steel strapped wooden caboose so we have been
restoring both the metal and wood components.

Two coats of rust brown body paint have already been applied by
Avi Lenchner and his crew from Avi Decorative Painting, 650-329-0770,
Menlo Park, CA. There is some trim which still needs to be
painted brown, plus the yellow paint (mostly on ladders and handrails) needs
to be applied. The painters have also started stripping the 10 feet of
whitewashed ceiling on the inside of WP668. The inside ceiling will
eventually be the natural dark honey-colored wood and the walls will be white.

John has finished replacing the ceiling boards under the roof overhanging
the front and back landings and also the trim around the doors. The
floor boards on one of the landings are also replaced; John had to
extend and restore the steel under that landing. He is mostly
done replacing the wood and re-welding the steel of the second landing
and stairs. He is starting to work on the wood window trim today.

The welder who will rebuild the steel bay window is scheduled to do his
work in the next two weeks. The prior owner of WP668 had cut out that
window to install a door. Also, John has found a vendor who can
re-create the front and back ladders. The original ladders were rotted
out and mostly cut off before we purchased our caboose.

We are discussing external lighting. There were no lights originally on the landings – only removable round red/green marker lamps which slotted
into holders on the sides. The marker lamps plugged into electrical outlets
on either side of the top of the caboose doors. John and I own one
engine-style marker lamp which fits into the holder but it is much larger
than the lamps shown in historic photos of Western Pacific cabooses in
service. We are looking to purchase two historic caboose-style marker
lamps. These have been coming up for sale on
eBay from time to time. We will
probably also install two unhistoric-but-needed exterior lights on either
sides of both caboose doors. There will be new lighting on the
underside of the caboose body to light walkways.

The crew stripped the paint that had been slapped over the original
Western Pacific Feather River Route sign on the side of WP668. Happily, the
steel retains a strong shadow of the original sign. We plan to restore
the original logo. I hope to post photos soon…

WP668 is currently painted pink with red stripes, plus pink, white and yellow spots.
That is, our 1916 backyard caboose is well into the process of having her first
thorough professional painting in probably 50 years. Avi Lenchner (of Avi
Decorative Painting, 650-329-0770, Menlo Park, CA) and his crew are hard
at work. The red stripes are from the rust retardant primer on the steel straps.
The pink, white and yellow spots are from various kinds of metal and wood hole fillers.
The pink paint is the primer for the wood. The final colors will be Western Pacific
Feather River Railway’s trademark rust brown with bright yellow trim.

John is replacing the split boards under the roof over the landings, the trim boards
around the windows and doors, and the stair treads where the wood was in very poor
condition. Those are the only places where wood needed replacing. Our contractor
is drawing the plans for the new building-code-compliant stairs.
Pictures soon to come…