KatysBlog

We have found two web references so far to the history of our
WP668 Caboose (now in storage in San Jose)

Current Picture:



Image by Katy Dickinson (Copyright 2006)

Old Picture #1:
The first WP668 reference is just an old image on a web site of railroad
pictures. The image was taken between 1943 and 1977. Given the bad
paint condition, probably later in that time period, but there is no
specific date or context. The photo label is:

“Western Pacific #668 location/Date/Photographer unknown. S. Roger Kirkpatrick collection”. The best thing about this image is that it
shows WP668 in her original markings, which will
be of help when we come to restore her exterior.

Old Picture #2:
The second WP668 reference is a full history web page from when WP668
was owned
by the Golden Gate Railroad Museum.
The text is:



Western Pacific #668, Bay Window Caboose

Builder: Western Pacific (Originally Pullman). Year Built: circa 1943 (1916)

This Western Pacific wooden box car was converted with several others
to serve as a caboose on local freight trains in the bay area. This car
was in use until approximately 1977. Built by Pullman in 1916 as boxcars,
the bay windows were added in 1943 along with the other “typical” appliances
of a caboose, such as bunks and a stove. This car is a sister to
Sacramento Northern #1642, also in our collection.

Upon the car’s retirement it was sold to a private owner who leased it
out as office space on the San Francisco waterfront. The caboose was
acquired by one of our members and donated to the museum.

The photo (probably taken between 1990-2005) shows WP668 with
brighter paint and all of her original numbering gone. However,
her windows are intact and her paint looks in better condition than when
we bought her this year. In particular, there is none none of the tagging
(grafitti) she has now.

The rain storms the last few weeks have considerably slowed our efforts
to get our swimming pool filled in. The job seems about 3/4 done now
but days can go by with no work because of the wet. The huge dirt pile
has finally moved from the front of the house into the pit in the back but
it is still too squelchy to pound down yet.

The plan is to fill in the pool with gravel and dirt to one tie-height
below ground level. After we place the ties, the ballast rock goes in
around them. Only the steel rails themselves will be above ground level.

John and I have been checking several times a day on our “new” 1916 caboose,
WP668, where it is in temporary storage
and all seems well so far. We are discussing where to start restoration and
repair work but we can’t do much until it dries out from the heavy rains.

The homeless (unhoused?) folks who are camped nearby do not seem
to be bothering it. This is a matter of concern because:
1) we don’t want them to move in, 2) we don’t want it burned by
a camp fire accident (or on purpose). Having
to evict trespassers is much harder than keeping them out in the
first place, which is why the windows are boarded up and the doors
are chained. There is strong lighting on half of it at night but the
other sides are in shadow.

Selected Caboose Move Photos from Tuesday, 28 February 2006:

Julie (crane operator):

Mark (low boy truck driver) after the caboose body was loaded:

Mark in his truck:

The caboose wheels, trucks, etc. after loading on the 2nd truck:

Leaving Hunter’s Point:

Caboose in San Francisco traffic:

Heading south on highway 101:

Under the lowest bridge (14 feet, 10 inches):

Passing Sun’s Menlo Park Campus exit:

Arriving in San Jose:

Off of 101, under the wires and street light:

Unloading the caboose body 1:

Unloading the caboose body 2:

Moving in the ties underneath:

Silicon Valley Lines club members move in the last tie:

Lifting the rails:

Dennis unloads the wheels 1:

Dennis unloads the wheels 2:

Everything on the ground:

A Job Well Done:

Images by Katy Dickinson (Copyright 2006)

We moved our 1916 WP668 caboose today from the
Golden Gate Railroad Museum
at Hunter’s Point in San Francisco to San Jose. The day started
at 7 a.m. with cutting off the battery box and a pulley for
the generator that extended too far down. Then, South Bay Crane &
Rigging lifted the caboose by crane from its trucks onto a low boy.
The trucks and a set of rail track were lifted onto a second flatbed.
Julie was our crane operator – she and the other crew (Dennis, Mark,
John, and the others) seemed to be having a great time.

At about 11 a.m., the low boy truck started driving south, followed
by the crane, a smaller truck, and the flatbed truck carrying the
remaining parts. I followed the low boy and got lots of photos of
WP668 passing under bridges as low as 14 feet, 10 inches. It was
exciting and fun to be following our own caboose down highway 101.

Once we arrived at the lot where it will be stored for several months,
the process was reversed. Here is a picture of WP668 just after it
was lifted from the low boy and before it came to rest:

Once everything was unloaded, John and some
Silicon Valley Lines
model train club members boarded up
the windows and put a tarp over the top and called it a day. We are
still sorting all of the pictures and will post more soon.

Image by John Plocher (Copyright 2006)

Our caboose moves tomorrow starting at 7 a.m. John was up at Hunter’s Point
getting everything ready on Saturday. The Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, California finally moved their train of
historic rolling stock out of the Golden Gate
Railroad Museum the same day. They had asked for some bits off of our
caboose that we didn’t care about (they can use replacement battery boxes and brake
parts for 1916 rail equipment) but in the end, they did not have time to take
everything. Here is one of the cabeese we didn’t buy being lifted onto a flatbed
railcar to go to its new home in Portola:

Luckily, the crane and rigging company we hired has the equipment to cut
off the bottom bits that would make our caboose stand too tall to get under
highway bridges. John has been learning to use an oxyacetylene torch but train steel
is too heavy for the welding unit we borrowed. John put plywood over the openings
to keep bits from rattling out when the caboose is lifted. The rain and wind
are supposed to be way down by tomorrow. We think all will be ready in the
morning for WP688 to move from San Francisco to San Jose.



Images by John Plocher (Copyright 2006)

Yesterday and today, we have had a work crew in the back yard
filling in the swimming pool to make a base for our new
WP 688 Caboose.
In the last few weeks, we have removed the old pool deck and liner
and many of the surrounding sand-laid old brick walkways. The soils
engineer has been out several times to see what’s what and make
suggestions.

Yesterday, the work crew put down the first 40 tons of base rock.
They spread and then tamped it down with a machine called a Whacker.
Just now, a dump truck delivered 20 more tons of base rock to the front
street. It is fascinating watching a huge truck bed lift from
horizontal to 45 degrees (when the load starts to pour down) and
eventually up to at least 70 degrees to get everything out. They
had originally ordered drain rock (which has less grit and dirt) but
base rock was delivered. Base rock is a higher grade and will work
better so we didn’t complain. The little
Bobcat earthmover went right in and scooped up a load before dumptruck
was even empty. The Bobcat then spun in a tight circle and dashed off to
dump its first load. What fun!

The workers on this project are a very American mix. The crew moving
the rock and dirt are Latino, the Soils Engineer is African American, and the
dump truck driver is from Asia. It reminds me of Agatha Christie’s 1934
mystery Murder on the Orient Express. At the end, Belgian detective
Hercule Poirot says:

…I tried to imagine whether such an assembly was ever likely to be collected
under any other conditions. And the answer I made to myself was — only
in America. In America there might be a household composed of just such
varied nationalities — an Italian chauffer, an English governess, a Swedish
nurse, a German lady’s-made, and so on….

Tonight we will report our progress at the monthly operations night of
our club, the
Silicon Valley Lines. “Silicon Valley Lines (SVL) is an HO Scale
Model Railroad Club the heart of Silicon Valley, in San Jose, California.”
They are all very interested in our project to move a real (or “prototype” as model railroaders say) caboose into our back yard. John was elected Club
President starting next month so we will get to report our caboose
installation and restoration progress every week.