The Centennial Caboose

The Centennial Caboose. . This caboose was acquired by the Acrey Family around 1969-chosen out of a lot of 300 decommissioned cabooses. The Acreys paid $50 for the caboose. This caboose was originally put in service during the 1890s for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad., It stayed in the family until 2010 when it was generously offered to the Las Cruces Railroad Museum. Some modifications were made to the interior of the caboose to allow for residential living. A full kitchen and shower were installed. All in all, the Acreys did a wonderful job in caretaking this extremely rare wooden caboose., The Railroad Museum will begin restoring the caboose as funding becomes available., Cabooses served as offices for train conductors; storage for spare parts and tools; and with a working kitchen and bunks, a home-away-from-home for the men working the line. It was common for railroad workers to hitch rides in a caboose from one job to another., It is widely believed that the first caboose was a converted boxcar, built around 1840. By the 1920s the caboose was being produced as a unique car design. Common features of cabooses were cupolas, porches or platforms, and windows. As communication and engine design advanced in the late 1970s and 1980s the need for separate offices for the conductor lessened and cabooses became obsolete., The Burlington Railroad built cabooses for railroad companies throughout the United States. This caboose was transferred from the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad to the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad, a part of the Burlington Railroad family. It ended its career on the rails in Lubbock, Texas on an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe line., This caboose was donated to the Las Cruces Railroad Museum by the Foundation for Las Cruces Museums, from a gift of Sean and Susan Acrey, in memory of Bill and Dorothy Hord, of Lubbock, Texas., The Foundation for Las Cruces Museums wishes to acknowledge the donors who made the acquisition of the caboose possible: Mr. Larry Broxton . Mr. and Mrs. John and Lori Grumet . Mrs. Laura Hubbard-Tompkins . Mr. Arturo and Mr. Pete Jurado, Jurado Farms . Mr. and Mrs. Ron and Christine Logan . Steve Newby Architects and Associates, Inc. . Paul and Bonnie Schranz . Mr. Will Ticknor . The Walczak Family, in remembrance of Bart Walczak, The Railroad Museum also wishes to acknowledge and thank our volunteers who worked tirelessly to prepare the museum for the arrival of the caboose: Bill Atchison . Dale Bradshaw . John Deck . James Frank . Steve McDaniel . Tom and Karen O'Brien . Jim Searls . Chris Smith