History
N&W caboose 500837 was built in 1944 by the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway. A total of 15 similar cabooses were built by the P&WV during the years 1940 through 1944. They were numbered 825 through 839.
The P&WV was acquired by the Norfolk & Western through a merger in 1964, and renumbered the cabooses into the 500825 through 500839 series.
The caboose is a “Northeastern” caboose similar in appearance to a number of steel cabooses built for railroads in the northeastern part of our nation. 500837 is painted with blue sides and roof consistent with N&W painting requirements beginning in 1966.
Restoration
The caboose will be marked with 500837 as it would have appeared before the application of the black and white consolidated stencils required in the early 1970’s by the AAR (1972) and FRA (1974). The lettering was done by using decals purchased from the N&W Historical Society.
Rotted wood was removed and replaced in several places, but mainly in the copula. A storage bin with a top for additional seating was built, and a new closet door was installed in the car. The stove was also rebuilt, but has not yet operational. New reporting marks will be added, which were missing when the project was started.
The above historical information is found in Cabooses Of The Norfolk and Western, by Robert G. Bowers and James F. Brewer, Norfolk & Western Historical Society, Inc., 1994.