Official Tilton Caboose Train Thread

[schwab21]

Are there going to be any more trips this year?

[DavidSRose]

Yup, there are two more: the first weekend in December is the White Mountain Limited Santa Train, and then last of the season is New Year's Eve.

-David

[Dick H]

Does anyone know if the Vermont Railway #10 caboose was already on
on the market when the Milford and Bennington acquired it or did the
M&B just start contacting caboose owners at Tilton to see who might
sell them one. Also, did the VTR #10 have lots of internal "amenities",
that the M&B will have no use for?

Also, any word if the M&B is back running with the VTR #10 leading
the way?

Dick

[schwab21]

Does anyone know if the Vermont Railway #10 caboose was already on
on the market when the Milford and Bennington acquired it or did the
M&B just start contacting caboose owners at Tilton to see who might
sell them one. Also, did the VTR #10 have lots of internal "amenities",
that the M&B will have no use for?

Also, any word if the M&B is back running with the VTR #10 leading
the way?

Dick

She was for sale when I was up there in April.

[wog820]

Does anyone know if the Vermont Railway #10 caboose was already on
on the market when the Milford and Bennington acquired it or did the
M&B just start contacting caboose owners at Tilton to see who might
sell them one. Also, did the VTR #10 have lots of internal "amenities",
that the M&B will have no use for?

Also, any word if the M&B is back running with the VTR #10 leading
the way?

Dick

It was for sale for more than a year or just about that much time . The caboose is still in Concord, don't know when it's gonna move. Don't be surprised if it moves by truck, considiring current relations between Pan Am, NEGS and the Milford & Bennington. LOL!

[toolmaker]

The new owner must be grateful to have another one to use considering the dangerous work it'll be be assigned to do. I hope it enjoys a long, long life out of retirement and a couple of pictures cross this forum for us to see.

[B&Mguy]

I know it's still two weekends away, but I was wondering about the White Mountains Limited Santa Train.

Is this a Tilton-Lincoln Train?

Is there a timetable for the trip yet?

I'm hoping to get a caboose train chase in this season, and if the weather holds up, this could be the one.

[wog820]

I know it's still two weekends away, but I was wondering about the White Mountains Limited Santa Train.

Is this a Tilton-Lincoln Train?

Is there a timetable for the trip yet?

I'm hoping to get a caboose train chase in this season, and if the weather holds up, this could be the one.

Yes, Tilton - Lincoln . We leave in the evening of the 4th around 8;00pm , get to Lincoln around midnight , not too much to photo that nite. . on the other hand we leave Lincoln early on sunday probaly around 8:30am , and I think we stop at the X- tree farm in Ashland around lunch time. We should arrive in Tilton by 3:30pm on sunday if all goes well.

[Trainman101]

So do all you guys own cabooses?

[wog820]

Caboose train is in Concord NH today , NEGS pulled it down yesterday, they should return today back to Northfield around Noontime.

[toolmaker]

but aren't you getting a foot of new snow today?

[DavidSRose]

So do all you guys own cabooses?

Pretty much [grin]. All of the cabooses that live at the Freight House in Tilton, and that make up the consist of the 'Caboose Train', are privately owned. A couple of people own more than one (or a caboose plus something else, like a box car, snow plow or business car), but most of us just own one caboose. Some of us purchased them from owners who were already part of this 'caboose commune', while others purchased our cabooses in other places and had them moved to Tilton to join the 'club'.

(And to answer your probable next question, cabooses these days run anywhere from $2,500 to $50,000 to purchase, depending on a host of factors including age, rarity, mechanical quality, condition, amenities, seller, market, etc. Typically (although I haven't been in the market for a while) I'd say the bell curve centers around $12K or so). You'd then have to move it to Tilton at your expense (if it wasn't here originally), which could be done either by rail or truck, depending on various factors. Finally, we all pay track rent in Tilton to store the cars there, and then pay separately for being part of each caboose train trip (which goes to the railroad for providing the locomotive, crew and trackage for the trip). The bottom line is that owning a caboose and being part of the train ends up being roughly equivalent to the cost of owning and maintaining a very modest weekend cabin somewhere off the beaten path

[B&Mguy]

Hey,

I was just wondering if there's a schedule out for 2010 yet? I'm excited that Spring is just around the corner, and am looking forward to some photo opps!

[wog820]

[quote="B&Mguy"]Hey,

I was just wondering if there's a schedule out for 2010 yet? I'm excited that Spring is just around the corner, and am looking forward to some photo opps![/quote


No schedule as of yet, I was told that they plan on working on replacing alot of ties between Tilton and Laconia this spring and early summer. So we will probaly go south for a few trips early this year with NEGS.

If anyone is interested riding with us on the Cold Harbor this year send me a PM and I'll fill you in.

[wog820]

An April 24th trip is being planned to go to Concord with NEGS.