Our Caboose

Our Caboose. History of ICG 199328. , Our Caboose , The colorful caboose that generations once looked for at the end of every freight train is now a thing of the past, replaced by modern technology. , , History of ICG 199328

The St. Francisville Caboose is an important historical attraction for the town. The caboose was purchased by the town in 1995 and moved to its current location through a generous donation by Richard Holcomb. The intention was that it would serve to remind visitors and future generations of the history of the West Feliciana Railroad, the third oldest railroad in the United States. The WFRR ran from Bayou Sara to Woodville, MS from 1834 to 1978, carrying the region's valuable cotton crop to the Mississippi River where it could be easily shipped to New Orleans. It was innovative, ahead of its time and necessary.

Our caboose was formerly operated by the Illinois Central Railroad as part of its Illinois Central Gulf line. It is a model M930, Wide Vision Cupola, steel caboose made by the International Car Co. It weighs approximately 54,000 lbs. and is approximately 38 ft. in length and 10 ft. wide. The cost new was $80,000. ICG 199328 was one of fifty cabooses built by International Car in 1976. This was one of the last cabooses built for the line.

The 2016 restoration project for the ICG 199328 began with a plan to move the caboose ahead on the rails for better visibility and safety. Old paint and rust was removed, safety issues were addressed, and a new brick sidewalk was added along with landscaping. Finally the correct ICG logo and lettering were applied along with information panels. All work was funded by the Town of St. Francisville.

, Why Is It Orange?

, Most railroads painted their cabooses "boxcar red" for high visibility. However, after World War II, the "little red caboose"showed up in many different colors, typically associated with the paint schemes found on the railroads' new diesel locomotives. The colorful caboose with its railroad's logo and paint scheme presented a rolling image for everyone to see.

, A tribute to ICG's Solid Orange Scheme

, By Thomas French (from Michael Seidelman's server Website), In the Summer of 1978, the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad introduced a solid orange paint scheme. It was a scheme that literally glowed when the locomotive was fresh out of the shop. However, officials of the railroad didn't care for the paint scheme and it was retired some 13 months later. Most people agree with the officials and call these units "Pumpkins" or "Punk'ins". Some of us however, really liked this scheme. It added to mix in the 1980's that included, Green Diamond, IC Orange and White, ICG Orange and White, GM&O Black and White, GM&O Red and White, ICG Orange and Gray, as well as sundry other schemes of units bought or leased from other railroads.At least 22 diesel engine units in 10 different models received the solid orange paint along with the matching cabooses. Some speculate that these units didn't like the paint scheme any better than the officials of the railroad. As the orange faded and came off.. over years numerous units were "touched up.", The color of our caboose, ICG 199328, is taken from paint samples found during restoration, while the scheme, lettering and logos came from historic photographs: Solid orange, heavy black lettering, logo with black circle and solid white "I"., Kelly, John, The colorful caboose, Trains magazine, August 2006, Kalmbach Publishing Co., French, Thomas. A tribute to ICG's Solid Orange Scheme, http://www.tdf23.info/SolidOrange/solid_orange_units.htm, Illinois Central Cabooses, http://www.icrr.net/iccaboose.htm