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Dustin Heckman, right, executive director of the Mower County Historical Society, explains the operations of a Milwaukee Road caboose on display. Fundraising efforts are underway to restore the 100-year-old caboose's exterior.

Donations needed to restore caboose

Century-old caboose logged 1 million miles

By Katie Johnson (Contact) | Austin Daily Herald

Published Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The Mower County Historical Society is seeking donations for the restoration of a 100-year-old Milwaukee Road caboose.

About 1 million miles were logged on the caboose before it was permanently relocated to the Mower County Fairgrounds in 1959, said Dustin Heckman, MCHS executive director.

“We thought it would be a good time to fix it up,” he said. “We’re just hoping for railroad enthusiasts or just general donations from the public.”

Every part of the MCHS railroad collection — the caboose, baggage car, steam engine and passenger car — are from the Milwaukee Road.

“Out of all of them, it is the most deteriorated one,” Heckman said of the caboose.

Photo by Katie Johnson

Fundraising efforts are underway for exterior restoration of a 100-year-old caboose at the Mower County Historical Society.

David Shipler of Grand Slam Construction in Austin has been contracted to renovated the exterior, which has deteriorated over the years.

“The detail that went into it is amazing,” Shipler said. “I thought that was kind of a neat piece of history.”

Although the caboose was built in 1909, Heckman said it only needs restoration on the exterior, which includes new siding and reframing of windows. About $4,000 is needed to complete the project, which Shipler began last week.

“Amazingly enough, there was little damage,” Shipler said of the exterior underneath the siding. “The siding on the exterior was pretty bad in some spots.”

Heckman explained the history of the caboose and The Milwaukee Road Monday.

Hormel Foods received shipments from The Milwaukee Road, which also provided passengers with transportation.

Trains ceased stopping in Austin in the 1960s, but some residents still recall riding the cars. Shipler talked about a woman who said she traveled on the passenger car from Lansing to Austin to see a movie for a quarter.

The MCHS sought the governor’s approval to move the cars to the site. Temporary tracks were layed to transport the cars.

Railroad facts

• In 1914, Milwaukee Road began work on 440 miles of electrification between Harlowton, Mont., and Avery, Idaho. In 1915, the road’s first electrically hauled train ran from Three Forks to Deer Lodge, Mont. — over 112 miles of track. • The caboose at the Mower County Historical Society, built in 1909, traveled an estimated one million miles while in operation. • Trains stopped in Austin until the 1960s; now they only pass through. • The Milwaukee Road, founded in 1850, was acquired by the Soo Line Railroad in 1985. Source: Milwaukee Road Historical Association

The caboose was often home to the train crew, and the conductor would ride in the cupola, the structure atop the caboose that would serve as a sort of watchtower, with windows to scan the landscape.

“If you don’t like heights, and you don’t like movement, it’s not a good place to be,” Heckman said.

Inside the caboose, which is painted white, passengers would ride on benches. A coal stove provided heat. There was also a restroom available, and it emptied onto the tracks, Heckman said.

Photo by Katie Johnson

David Shipler, owner of Grand Slam Construction, explains the restoration work he is doing on a Milwaukee Road caboose at the Mower County Historical Society.

The MCHS typically provides tours of the caboose during the Mower County Fair, and this year should be no exception. It is also decorated for Christmas in the County.

Shipler said the train restoration is an “interesting project.”

“I guess I’m kind of drawn to a challenge,” he said.

To donate to the caboose restoration project, call the Mower County Historical Society at 437-6082. They are located at 1303 Sixth Ave. S.W., at the entrance to the fairgrounds.

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