Choo Choo Choose a Caboose in North Judson
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THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 21, Number 22 Thursday, June 9, 2005 Choo Choo Choose a Caboose in North Judson by Paula McHugh The caboose has just about disappeared from the American landscape—just as the steam locomotive has. Hesston has kept the steam train alive. And members of the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson have done the same with cabooses and other relics of train history. Those of us over the age of 30 can remember that last car on a long, straight string of boxcars that we watched, and maybe counted, as we sat at a crossing waiting to get to the other side of the gates. The caboose, as someone artfully put it, was “the exclamation point at the end of the train.” One of this writer’s ambitions—modest as it is—has been to ride inside a caboose. And, as Hank Williams put it, to “stick your head right out the window and feel that (southern) breeze.” This quest comes from years of sitting at crossings before autos had air-conditioners in places like Hammond, and Griffith, and even Chesterton back in the days when anyone caught in a long line of automobiles looked forward to seeing that last car click along the steel rails. The wait at the crossing gate gave some of us time to let loose our imaginations, wondering what it might be like traveling across this big country of ours in one of those classic rolling red cars. Ride the Crumb Box Or, usually red. Different cabooses were painted brown, yellow, green, and even red, white and blue dur- ing the 1976 Bicentennial. Different lines differentiated their companies that way. In railroad lingo, the last car on the track had a number of different names: crumb box, dog house, hut, crummery, cabin car, palace and a few others. It’s the place where the brakeman sat— up in the cupola—to keep an eye on the track. It was his job to check for smoke on the rails (indicat- ing a need for lubrication) and to spot other trouble, such as car derailments up in front of him . Another model of caboose had a bay window and just one level instead of a cupola. Short-run cabooses were used for transfers only; those cabooses had no cupolas or bay windows. Much of the technical stuff is best left to rail fans, Everyone should take a ride in a little red caboose at least once. At North Judson, when you buy your ticket, it’s good all day. Caboose Continued on Page 2 THE Page 2 June 9, 2005 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 In Case Of Emergency, Dial e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] email: Classifieds - [email protected] http://www.bbpnet.com/ PRINTED WITH Published and Printed by TM Trademark of American Soybean Association THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden 911 Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is also Subscription Rates delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. 1 year $28 6 months $16 3 months $10 1 month $5 Caboose Continued from Page 1 who are able to rattle off stacks of information and terms totally foreign to this writer. The members of the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum (HVRM) are eager to share what they know. A core group of about 40 spend a lot of their time at their depot and train yard in North Judson, painting, cleaning, fixing, and planning. Craig Rohrer, a member who moved to North Judson from Downers Grove, showed us around the indoor museum and gift shop. They’ve rebuilt track on the old Erie right-of-way so that visitors can enjoy a mile-and-a-half trip in a Inside the Depot and Shop caboose car, and on special days, such as North When we arrived at the HVRM at 507 Mulberry Judson’s annual Mint Festival (Father’s Day Weekend, Street in North Judson, we were greeted at the depot June 18 & 19) rides on the Hoosier Valley Motor Car by Craig Rohrer, a former Downers Grove resident. will be offered. Those who might want to immerse them- Craig showed us around the gift shop, which had selves in learning to actually drive the train can originally been the storage area where crates of reserve a spot as Guest Engineer. Those 18 and older chicks and other commodities would be waiting to be will be given 30 minutes of supervised diesel locomotive loaded onto boxcars. On the other side of the depot— operating experience on either a 4-axle or 6-axle. If the original waiting area—old photographs of the a caboose ride is not your thing, and if the Guest town’s early railroad history lined the walls. A display Conductor program is more than you’re looking for, case full dinnerware from the Ambassador sat in then you might want to opt for a locomotive cab ride one corner, and other display cases showed off other instead. Except for Mint Festival Weekend, the rides relics from bygone days. are scheduled Saturdays only. The depot opens at 9 Caboose Continued on Page 4 am, and the rides begin at 11 am. The North Judson depot houses an indoor display of historical railroad The massive #2789 steam engine formerly sat in a Peru park before it items, and its gift shop is stocked with clothing, toys, came to North Judson in 1988. antiques and much more. THE June 9, 2005 Page 3 Open ‘til 6 p.m. Evenings www.littlehousefashions.comElegant Apparel for the [email protected] Conscious Woman Women’s Apparel 1/2 Price Sale on all New Arrivals Buy One Piece, Get Second Piece 1/2 Price Craig explained how the ridged glass insulators differed from an earlier (Of Equal or Lesser Value) version. The glass antiques are for sale at the museum. Susan Bristol GiGi Separates… Floral Capri Cropped stretch pique pant with contrast schiffli and bows at slits. The depot’s former waiting 26" inseam. room is filled 98% Cotton/2% his local historical Spandex. photos . Machine Wash. $88 "Bella" tee with embroidered and sequin writing. Lightweight cotton, Cap sleeve, Imported. 100% Cotton. Machine wash. $49 THE TENT IS UP! Blow Out Sale Select Styles $5, $10 and $15 Hurry in for Spectacular Savings! Meet Us For Lunch And A Style Show WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22 - HANNAH’S, NEW BUFFALO THURSDAY, JUNE 23 - TIPPECANOE PLACE, SOUTH BEND 409409 Alexander StreetStreet, LaPorte, IN 326-8602 On Hwy 35 - 5 Blocks South of Lincolnway TurnTurn Rightright on AlexanderAlexander Monday-FridayMonday - Friday10 am 9:30to 6 pmto 7 Saturday Saturday 9:30 9:30 am to to5 5 pm THE Page 4 June 9, 2005 Caboose Continued from Page 2 Sandwiched between the gift shop and museum, the dispatcher’s office displayed tools long since replaced by modern technology. We got to operate the signal switch and were introduced to three young rail fans: 5-year old Cory, his big brother and conductor-for-the- day, Kyle, and Kyle’s friend, William. 5 year old Cory is a very young rail fan here today with his brother, Kyle. With arm out the window and finger on the camera’s shutter, our caboose cupola view showed no trouble up the line. At one time, some 125 trains passed through North Judson, among them the Pennsey, New York Central, C & O, Erie, and Monon. Today, visitors line up at the depot on Saturdays (in season) for a short ramble down the member-installed tracks. Kyle collected tickets from a crowd of 25 among us. Two cabooses were ready for us, and Kyle made sure that this writer could sit high up in the cupola in the last car. Member and “brake- man” Fred Boyer let us know that the high perch reserved for us meant keeping an eye out for any “trou- William and ble” up ahead. And member Les Beckman joined us, Kyle, two local providing more information about the HVRM and its youth, help at efforts to restore the rolling stock and more in the non- the museum on Saturdays. profit club’s collection. Surprisingly—or not—only a handful of the 260 HVRM members have actual rail- road backgrounds, we were told. Since our caboose trip was still 30 minutes away, Kyle, a local second-grader, offered to show us around the shop, where the #2789 Chesapeake & Ohio steam locomotive was being restored. The 230-ton iron horse dwarfed us both. One of the engine’s claims to fame was its assignment of pulling a section of the Friendship Train through West Virginia in 1947. The steam engine formerly sat in a Peru park before it came to North Judson in 1988. Kyle’s job was to make sure everyone boarded the train on time for its short journey, but he had time Brakeman Fred Boyer let us know that the high perch reserved for us to show me a few other things before our departure, meant keeping an eye out for any “trouble” up ahead. such as the pieces of a 100-foot Bethlehem Steel Troop Car Built in Michigan City turntable donated by Conrail, rails and spikes and sig- Les said that members are working on another track nals and switches and other equipment. Decked out that will take passengers on a longer excursion.