| Built in 1942 by Mt. Vernon Car Company. It has now been restored to its as built number. The following is from a display on the car: A caboose served as the office for the trains conductor, who kept track of the destinations of the trains cars using written waybills and switching lists. It also housed one or more brakemen who assisted the conductor, kept watch over the train while moving, and helped perform switching operations. UP 25086 (originally 3786) was one of 100 class CA-3 cabooses, the railroads first all-steel units. It incorporated a desk, a stove for cooking and heating, crew bunks, and an enclosed toilet. It was used throughout the roads Omaha-California system until retirement, when it was acquired by a Kansas railroad museum. An IRM member purchased the caboose from the Kansas museum in 1992, and later donated it to the museum. |