Nostalgia & History > Anyone know the story on this DRGW caboose?

Does anyone know the story on this Rio Grande caboose body? I first saw in on a trip in 1976, and when I moved to Utah in 1978, I made several visits to it.

This carbody, sat on the hill above the highway, just east of the old Rio Grande junction at Thistle, Utah. Just up the hill from US6, no more than two miles east of the old Thistle, and just outside of the right of way from the highway. If you drove by, you couldn't miss it. Just sitting there, and considering that it had been on the ground for decades, was in remarkable shape.

Any one know how it got there, why it was there, when it was put there?

However, after the Thistle slide and the realignment of the Rio Grande tracks above the impounded lake, the caboose may have been moved or destroyed.

Notice the painted date on the second photos - SL - 1-18-21. I'd assume Salt Lake City. And in that third photo, is this a Rio Grande Western caboose?

Lee Hower
Sacramento



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/09 22:23 by mcfflyer.

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Here are a couple more.

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Very Strange, what I see is clearly in the shape of a D&RGW/RGS wood short caboose. Though it appears that the car body windows are in a different placement from say the 0579 on the C&TS, that can be expected as EVERY D&RGW wood caboose is different from the last one

According to drgw.org, 1120 is located at Thistle Utah, and is "ex-Utah & Pleasant Valley Railway?, wood, cupola, 4 wheel, on hill STD?"

Intresting markings on the door... if it reads what I think it reads it's: "Passengers are not allowed to stand on the platform"... not being a true expert, would this have been normal for all D&RGW cabooses? Or just ones in Mixed Service?

drgwAZ1986 Wrote:
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>
> According to drgw.org, 1120 is located at Thistle
> Utah, and is "ex-Utah & Pleasant Valley Railway?,
> wood, cupola, 4 wheel, on hill STD?"
>
> Intresting markings on the door... if it reads
> what I think it reads it's: "Passengers are not
> allowed to stand on the platform"... not being a
> true expert, would this have been normal for all
> D&RGW cabooses? Or just ones in Mixed Service?

Well, maybe it still exists! And maybe it got moved when the highway and railroad were realigned.

I saw that marking on the door too and wondered if they'd use a four wheel bobber caboose as a mixed train passenger vehicle. Wouldn't take much to fill it up!

Thanks for the info, and answering some questions, I've had for many years!

Lee

Wow! I remember seeing that caboose while driving through there in the 60's and 70's with my father. I've thought about it from time to time, but couldn't remember where it was we saw it! I often wondered how to get info on it. Leave it to T.O. friends to come to my aid and help in my quest also! Any more info available???



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/09 10:14 by patd3985.