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Western Pacific No. 434
434 was built by the International Car Company in Kenton, Ohio, in 1955, part of an order for 35 new cabooses placed by the WP. It was originally painted in a simple brown and yellow paint scheme (look for remnants of the words “Western Pacific” spelled out across the top of each side of the caboose.) It spent the vast majority of its active career plying the WP’s route between California and Utah.
The future looked promising for 434 as the 1980’s began. WP gave it a new lease on life, and a new look, in 1981 when they rebuilt it in their shops in Stockton, CA. However, change was coming soon for the WP and for the railroad industry as a whole. Shortly after the rebuilding, WP was acquired by Union Pacific, and their equipment began to scatter across the UP system. 434 soon found itself in Pocatello, Idaho, awaiting repairs after receiving some minor damage. By then, new technology was rendering cabooses largely obsolete on American railroads, and the awaited repairs never came. In 1984, 434 was officially retired, and sold for scrap in 1987.
Fortunately, rather than being cut up for recycling, it was purchased by a local farmer and spent years in obscurity as a storage shed in nearby Inkom. In (sometime), an entrepreneuring couple purchased it and began the laborious task of giving it another new life. In early 2025, they were planning a different use for their property and needed 434 moved out. This led to another truck trip to its current home, another interior refresh, permanent plumbing connections, and for the first time in 40 years, wheels and track to sit on.
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