Nostalgia & History > Monterey Cannery Row caboose up for sale

http://www.montereyherald.com/article/NF/20180420/NEWS/180429977

C

Letter to the editor

It was disappointing to read that the city of Monterey turned down the donation of the Cannery Row caboose, saying the city had no use for it. Really? The city could use it as a mini museum of local railroad history — a subject that has been largely ignored in local historical exhibits.

Let’s hope that whoever buys the caboose will be willing to leave it in place and not haul it away. Monterey has already lost too many of its railroad artifacts. The railway post office car was taken away a few years ago and before that the freight depot by Wharf 2 was senselessly demolished. The passenger depot is now retail space and the tracks leading to it have been buried despite an ongoing agreement with Caltrans to preserve them for future use. At the rate we’re going it won’t be long before every remnant of local railroad history will be erased from the city.
James Toy

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

Well being a Western Pacific caboose, is it really a local railroad historical artifact?

TomG Wrote:
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> Well being a Western Pacific caboose, is it really
> a local railroad historical artifact?

No, just mostly a nostalgic reminder of days gone by, not a nit-picking anomaly for the railfan world to bitch about. :-)
C.

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

Plus most of the visitors to Monterrey would not know the difference anyway in a WP caboose.

Gary

CarolVoss Wrote:
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> No, just mostly a nostalgic reminder of days gone by, not a nit-picking anomaly for the railfan world to bitch about. :-)

HA HA HA HA! Great one, Carol! Railfans wouldn't know what to do with themselves if they couldn't nit-pick and bitch about everything!

The caboose gets to stay!


http://www.montereyherald.com/business/20180425/cannery-rows-red-caboose-to-remain-on-rec-trail

fbe Wrote:
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> The caboose gets to stay!
>
>
> http://www.montereyherald.com/business/20180425/ca
> nnery-rows-red-caboose-to-remain-on-rec-

jeez, I totally missed it in our paper today—thanks for picking up on it—-😀
C

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

> CarolVoss Wrote:

> a nit-picking anomaly for the railfan world to bitch about.

What a great line. I'm going to try and remember that for future use. I'll credit you, of course, Carol, along with farm-equipment demolition derby.

CarolVoss Wrote:
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> fbe Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The caboose gets to stay!
> >
> >
> >
> http://www.montereyherald.com/business/20180425/ca
>
> > nnery-rows-red-caboose-to-remain-on-rec-
>
> jeez, I totally missed it in our paper
> today—thanks for picking up on it—-😀
> C

Very odd— you got the article about the sale yesterday and it isnt in our paper until today so I can only surmise that you got it from the Herald website.
C

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

Carol,

I followed your link to the news article you posted while watching the TV. I scrolled down to read comments and below that I found photos with links to all sorts of railroad, transportation, social interest and other crap of little interest. But wait, there was a different photo of the caboose/store. When I clicked on the photo the story of the sale in the link I posted popped up. Just about 100% pure accident on my part. I hope it continues to add to the ambiance of the area even if it is not accurate to the town. It remains an intact piece of WP equipment for all to see and study.

Alan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/18 09:41 by fbe.

CarolVoss Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> TomG Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Well being a Western Pacific caboose, is it
> really
> > a local railroad historical artifact?
>
> No, just mostly a nostalgic reminder of days gone
> by, not a nit-picking anomaly for the railfan
> world to bitch about. :-)
> C.
Agreed that this is a fantastic quote! Thank you Carol!

The caboose has been for sale on Ozark Mountain Railcar for at least a few months. I noticed it awhile ago. $27,000.00 for a caboose is a lot of money especially when a buyer would usually be looking at another 6 to 10 grand to move it. I guess part of the high cost is due to it's location in a tourist area and an existing lease with the city. Even tough the buyer is saying he won't modify it I hope it's true. People think cutting big windows in cabooses is not changing them.

It would have been a good addition to the PLA collection in Niles Canyon. It would have been returning home. Portola already has one they are restoring so of the available museums Niles Canyon makes the most sense. People don't remember that there also used to be a Heisler in Monterey with the caboose. It was Pickering #1. It was rescued by the PLA and moved to storage at Shin Street in Fremont. It is now in Tillamook Oregon as part of the Oregon Scenic Railroad collection. There also was a baggage car that was painted with Southern Pacific in the name board but in looking close at it the trucks were from the New York Central. I don't know where that car went.

born in carmel, lived in monterey until 1962, rode the del monte, watched the local as a kid. Sounds like the county would like to "disavow" all knowledge of a railroad ever existing. makes me sick.

wpdude Wrote:
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> born in carmel, lived in monterey until 1962, rode
> the del monte, watched the local as a kid. Sounds
> like the county would like to "disavow" all
> knowledge of a railroad ever existing. makes me
> sick.


Been coming here most all of my 80 years and lived here in Prunedale since 1999— The Del Monte train has been gone since 1971, the ROW is a heavily used rec trail from Seaside with rails still showing in places, the floor of the old Del Monte Hotel station used as a gathering place to feed the homeless, the old signals at the crossing where Doc Ricketts was killed by the Del Monte train on Cannery Row are still there, but the rail heritage of area is largely unknown or cared about today. The Monterey train station was turned into a marketplace for local veggies and wine by Tanimura and Antle but they just shut up shop and are hoping for another tenant. Disavow isnt the issue—- trains just arent relevant here anymore. Been gone far too long. And dont get me started on the branch from Castroville which hadnt seen a train since 1997, ends in the Costco parking lot in Seaside, and has to be totally rebuilt, have the bridge over the Salinas river totally retrofitted etc at a cost last estimated 10 years ago at $38 mil and counting. Time marches on.
C

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/18 21:11 by CarolVoss.