It was a community effort that brought a beloved train caboose to Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood 50 years ago.
Now, it’ll take another push from the community to keep it there.
“It is an enduring icon of our community,” said Gian Macone, a Caboose Fund Board member.
The Little Red Caboose, as neighbors call it, was first built by Norfolk and Western in Roanoke, Virginia in 1919. It was placed outside Mount Vernon Community School by Alexandria school and city leaders in 1973.
It’s been cherished for generations, often open to the public during community events.
But the caboose has seen better days.
“This is sort of the last stand for us to be able to keep it or else it’s just going to have to go somewhere and probably be scrapped,” Macone said.
From far away, the caboose looks fine. However, if you take a closer look at it, you can see that it’s made of wood and is showing signs of wear and tear. And that’s not all that needs to be fixed.
“If you look at some of the infrastructure on it right now, particularly the window frames, you can see where the rain just comes in anytime it wants,” Macone said.
“We’ll need metal working done, we’ll need painting done, we’ll probably need some carpentry, significant carpentry,” said Evan Wilson, the Caboose Fund executive director.
The Caboose Fund is a nonprofit started to save the railroad car, which says it will take about $100,000 to restore it.
“There will probably be a move needed for the caboose, and any time you move a rail car, especially in a tight place like this, the logistics are challenging,” Wilson said.
The Caboose Fund is consulting specialists to do the work. It’s also hoping to add a ramp outside the caboose to help with accessibility and add an HVAC system.
“We want it to be available to all of Alexandria — to the public,” Wilson said.
People who stop by the caboose can scan a QR code to make a donation or can make a donation on the Caboose Fund’s website.
