Sealy Area Historical Society


1927 Way Car (caboose)

The caboose was manufactured in 1927 and is one of the first 150 steel cabooses manufactured for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. Railroad companies refer to a caboose as a "way car."

The interior and exterior of the caboose are nearly original.  We even have the original window shades.  The only additions and changes to the caboose are the addition of a toilet and electricity and replacement of the wooden tool/storage box beneath the caboose and replacement of the top rails on the cupola.  These changes were made by the railroad company.

​In 2011, the exterior and interior of the caboose were restored to their original appearance, down to repainting the number “1605” and “AT&SF” on the sides in the original size and font. Documentation of the original colors for the interior and exterior were obtained, allowing the Sealy Area Historical Society to turn back the clock for the caboose.

Much of the funding for restoration of the caboose was provided by the Abe and Irene Levine Trust. Replacing the old windows was one of the final steps in the complete restoration of the caboose.

WE NEED TRUCKS, WHEELS, TRACKS AND RAILROAD TIES TO MAKE THE CABOOSE RESTORATION COMPLETE.
Denis Muras working on the old 1927 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe waycar  (caboose).  
Charlie Krumpitz and Denis Muras replaced the deteriorated windows in the caboose. Mr. Krumpitz and Mr. Muras have paid for the construction materials to re-build the windows and have donated their labor. 
Below is a page from a catalog of way cars published in 1945.  Little changed in the construction of the steel way cars between 1927 and 1945.  Note the similarities to the 1927 car.
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