Caboose Ready to Travel

Tomorrow is the target date to move the WIM caboose from Gene and Connie Rambo's farm in Farmington, Washington to the depot property in Potlatch, so there was much prep work to get the little car ready. Ever faithful, President Don Somers arrived early to remove the plastic and do other prep work before Doug Wasankari and his able crew showed up. These guys are a precision team and it's fun to watch each step, from raising the caboose up high enough, to backing the lowboy under it. Fractions of inches count in this game.

The day was sunny but chilly and Connie spent time visiting with Don, Jack and Barb before doing her afternoon school bus route. She said Jim West had phoned from his meeting in Boise to check on the progress. When son Ryan joined the gallery of spectators, we learned just how long the caboose has been at the Rambo farm. Connie recalls that Ryan was about 8 or 10 when the car was brought in, and Ryan is now 47, so do the math. Although the caboose is paint chipped and in need of restoration, it appears basically very sound. Doug has chosen the route via Yellow Dog to get the cargo safely to Potlatch.

Today's photos show Doug and his crew jacking up the caboose, then loading it on the lowboy. Notice that the painted lettering identifies the caboose as X-3 instead of X-5. We will give more historic details from Tom Burg in the future.

More photos tomorrow....