LITTLE FERRY, N.J. — The Conrail Historical Society has added to its collection with the donation by CSX of caboose No. 22130, which continued to wear its Conrail blue paint until its retirement earlier this year.
The extended-vision cupola caboose was built in August 1970 by International Car Co. for the Reading Co., and transferred to Conrail in 1976, becoming one of just 10 class N-20 cabooses among the more than 2,500 waycars on the railroad’s roster. It went to CSX in the 1999 division of Conrail between CSX and Norfolk Southern. The historical society began talking with CSX about the caboose in 2018, and the next year, CSX pledged to donate it once it was retired. In addition to the caboose, CSX donated some repairs and transportation from Tennessee, where it was last used.
The caboose, currently stored on the New York, Susquehanna & Western, will eventually be moved to the Delaware, Lackawaxen & Stourbridge Railroad in Honesdale, Pa., where it will be restored to its full Conrail livery and operate on the railroad’s excursion trains. It is expected to be available for rides by 2022. To learn more about the car or to donate to its restoration, visit the historical society’s web page about the caboose. For more information about the Conrail Historical Society, visit its website.
