Colorado Midland Railroad Caboose - Buena Vista, CO
Posted by: 
Outspoken1
N 38° 50.530 W 106° 07.993
13S E 401653 N 4299872
Colorado Midland Railroad Caboose in McPhelemy Park in Buena Vista, CO
Waymark Code: WM42JQ
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 06/28/2008
Views: 88
This caboose is in excellent condition in McPhelemy Park in Buena Vista, Colorado. The caboose was built in 1890 as St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern 157, in 1904 it became the CB&Q 14634, and Burlington-Northern 11086 with the formation of Burlington-Northern in 1970. The CB&Q was one of several railroads that called their cabooses waycars. The current rendition is a fantasy paint scheme to honor a local railroad, the Colorado Midland Railroad that never owned it.
There is construction of a small-town style railway station building adjacent to the caboose. I could not find any explanation for the building; it looks as if it were to become a tourist office or small museum.
This caboose appears to be the "standard" cupola, with "most cabooses the cupola was in the center of the car, but some western railroads (most notably the Santa Fe) preferred to put it at the end of the car. These cars presented some operational issues because they had to be turned in order to face in the proper direction." [excerpted from Wikipedia Caboose entry.]