Midwest Central Railroad: Bellevue and Cascade 055 Caboose

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MCRR Cabooses

Bellevue and Cascade 055 Caboose

This Bellevue and Cascade caboose is a genuine Iowa narrow gauge car. Built by Ohio Falls Car Company around 1880, it served on the Bellevue and Cascade in North East Iowa until the line closed operation around 1936. It was their only caboose.

After the B&C shut down, one of its engineers bought the caboose and kept it on his property as storage. It sat outside rotting away for decades before being moved to Maquoketa in the 1960s. Around 1980 Jim Schroeder purchased what was left of the car and began what became a very impressive restoration. He meticulously replaced all of the rotten wood creating an exact copy of the piece. He reused what hardware he could but nearly all of the wood is new. It became a part of the Midwest Central Railroad in 2004.

It is back on the rail now at the Midwest Central Railroad. The caboose was dedicated in a ribbon cutting ceremony during Old Threshers 2005.

First Caboose

The first caboose for MCRR grew from plans of a Florence and Cripple Creek caboose in the April 1959 issue of 'Railroad Model Craftsman'. Its builders noted it was most likely the first time a replica was built in reverse from model plans. With its windowed cupola, it quickly became the most popular car for riders.

White Pass RR Caboose

This caboose operated in Alaska on the White Pass and Yukon Railway. It was shipped to Iowa around 1990. It is one of three remaining White Pass steel cabooses.

Bellevue and Cascade RR Caboose

The latest addition to our caboose collection was built by Ohio Falls Car Co. around 1880 it served on the Bellevue and Cascade in NE Iowa until the line closed in around 1936.

Midwest Central Railroad Mount Pleasant, Iowa 52641 319−385−2912 (updated 15Aug08)