The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
CABOOSE CRAFT
If a caboose could talk, it would regale plenty with stories. A committee begins restoration of this caboose which worked at Black River Landing in Lorain
Work is back on track for volunteers creating a new monument to Lorain’s railroad history.
The Lorain Caboose Committee has resumed work on the railroad car that was moved last year to the Lorain Port Authority Black River Landing festival site.
Black River Landing, once a busy rail yard, will be the permanent home of Caboose C-3855. The 1975 car worked at the tail end of trains that ran between Medina and Lorain.
More progress is happening this summer.
“I will say this group, as small as it may be, we’re working,” said Caboose Committee Chairman Gary Schaefer. “We’re actually doing something. You can see it. It’s amazing. Something needs to be done, it gets done.”
Schaefer and Treasurer Gail Bonsor discussed the project with caboose crew members Don Glass and Jim Dembiec, both retired railroaders.
CSX Railroad donated the car to the committee and it rolled back into Lorain in 2019.
“It’s amazing. Something needs to be done, it gets done.” — Committee Chairman Gary Schaefer
In June last year it arrived at the railroad tracks just off Black River Wharf, the Lorain Port Authority’s 14th Street boat ramp.
In August, a moving company and the committee spent 12 hours moving it from that spot to Black River Landing. The members painted the roof to seal it for the winter and the interior parts have been removed.
In the spring, the committee had to put some plans on hold due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. A planned “Hobo Days” fundraiser has been postponed at least three times and now is scheduled for Sept. 26, with a car show and flea market, Bonsor said.
Now the restoration has begun.