Itasca in DuPage County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
01839 Milwaukee Road
1939 Rib-Side Caboose
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 16, 2025
1. 01839 Milwaukee Road Marker
Inscription.
01839 Milwaukee Road. 1939 Rib-Side Caboose. Most early cabooses used a cupola to permit the crew to watch over the train ahead. The bay window design, developed in 1923, was considered safer for crews and provided a better view of the side and wheels of the cars ahead. , , The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific (better known as the Milwaukee Road) constructed more than 300 bay window cabooses in its own shops between 1939 and 1951. MILW 01839 (later 991839) was one of the seventy-five cars built in the Milwaukee shops in the first batch of these cabooses in 1939. It was built with high-strength Cor-Ten steel sheets, using the same distinctive horizontal-ribbed sides as the road's streamlined passenger cars. It has passenger-type trucks for a smoother ride and a coal stove for heating. The caboose was originally painted orange, with black trim and maroon lettering. , , This caboose operated throughout the system and was assigned to Train 470/471 Sparta, Wisconsin Patrol. In the 1980s, it was sold at auction and its publicly listed disposition was reported as scrapped. Little did anyone know that it was not scrapped but had made its way to a local Itasca businessman and into the backyard of a local Itasca residence, where it was used as an office and at times a playroom. , , In 2013, the Itasca Park District was awarded an Illinois Department of Natural Resources Public Museum Capital Grant to assist with the relocation and restoration of this 1939 Rib-side Caboose. On Thursday, March 7, 2013, the Itasca Park District purchased MILW 01839 from the local Itasca Family and relocated it to this current location to make it a part of the Itasca Historical Depot Museum. Over a six-month period the caboose received a $100,000 restoration which included lead-paint removal, new doors sand windows, exterior and interior painting, insulation and wall replacements, ADA accessibility, and more. The caboose was dedicated on Thursday, September 26, 2013. , , Builder: Milwaukee Road , Empty Weight: 39,500 lbs , Nominal Length: 35 ft
Most early cabooses used a cupola to permit the crew to watch over the train ahead. The bay window design, developed in 1923, was considered safer for crews and provided a better view of the side and wheels of the cars ahead.
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific (better known as the Milwaukee Road) constructed more than 300 bay window cabooses in its own shops between 1939 and 1951. MILW 01839 (later 991839) was one of the seventy-five cars built in the Milwaukee shops in the first batch of these cabooses in 1939. It was built with high-strength Cor-Ten steel sheets, using the same distinctive horizontal-ribbed sides as the road's streamlined passenger cars. It has passenger-type trucks for a smoother ride and a coal stove for heating. The caboose was originally painted orange, with black trim and maroon lettering.
This caboose operated throughout the system and was assigned to Train 470/471 Sparta, Wisconsin Patrol. In the 1980s, it was sold at auction and its publicly listed disposition was reported as scrapped. Little did anyone know that it was not scrapped but had made its way to a local Itasca businessman and into the backyard of a local Itasca residence, where it was used as an office and at times a playroom.
In 2013, the Itasca Park District was awarded an Illinois Department of Natural Resources
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Public Museum Capital Grant to assist with the relocation and restoration of this 1939 Rib-side Caboose. On Thursday, March 7, 2013, the Itasca Park District purchased MILW 01839 from the local Itasca Family and relocated it to this current location to make it a part of the Itasca Historical Depot Museum. Over a six-month period the caboose received a $100,000 restoration which included lead-paint removal, new doors sand windows, exterior and interior painting, insulation and wall replacements, ADA accessibility, and more. The caboose was dedicated on Thursday, September 26, 2013.
Location. 41° 58.249′ N, 88° 1.147′ W. Marker is in Itasca, Illinois, in DuPage County. It is on Irving Park Road (Illinois Route 19) near Catalpa Avenue, on the right when traveling east. The marker and the caboose are on the campus of the Itasca Historical Depot. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 101 North Catalpa Avenue, Itasca IL 60143, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Chicago. It is also in the American Midwest and on the Great Lakes. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Northwest Territory.
Also see . . . Milwaukee Road Archives. A history of the Milwaukee Road railway from the Milwaukee Public Library. (Submitted on October 17, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 16, 2025
3. 01839 Milwaukee Road caboose
A close-up of two of the historic photos on the marker.
Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 16, 2025
4. Itasca Depot campus
Credits. This page was last revised on October 17, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 16, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 62 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos:1. submitted on October 16, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 17, 2025, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.
