(The Associated Press circulated the following on August 21, 2010.)
CATLETTSBURG, Ky. — For a moment, past and present melded as a CSX coal train rumbled past a refurbished 1969 caboose, Catlettsburg’s newest landmark.
People gathered recently to celebrate the restoration of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway caboose. Once rusted, it is now a bright red with yellow trim and sits outside the town’s old train depot.
Frank Branham, director of Catlettsburg Main Street, said he was the third generation of his family to work in the railroad industry. He sees the caboose as a tribute to the legacy of all the people of Catlettsburg who worked on the railroad.
Despite the significance he sees in the project, Branham said he was surprised at the turnout at the celebration and the people who volunteered to help with the project.
“The community interest in it overwhelms me,” he said.
Russell Compton, who purchased the caboose and was also involved in the renovation of Catlettsburg’s train depot, was named a “Hometown Hero.”
Compton said he felt pride about the caboose, hoping it will add a bit of beauty to the city and draw tourists.
He also expressed gratitude to the men who worked to help him accomplish his goal of bringing a caboose to the depot.
Bill Alley was one of those volunteers, working on refurbishing the caboose.
He said a group of local men who meet for coffee at McDonald’s gathered for the past few weeks to work on the project, cutting metal away from the bottom of the caboose, cleaning inside and painting the outside.
The work still isn’t complete. They still need to do things such as add a hand rail and paint the bottom of the caboose, Alley said.
Charles Carraway, another volunteer, said he got involved because of Compton’s passion for the project.
“Everyone thinks the world of Russell,” he said.
Branham said that when Compton suggested bringing a caboose to the depot, community members began searching for an appropriate addition.
“It was a three-year quest to find the caboose,” he said.
They purchased it in January.
Workers laid a short track for the caboose in April and have been working on the caboose itself for several months, but worked seriously on the changes this summer, Branham said.
Lou Wechsler, 75, said she used to live in Catlettsburg and has been watching as work on the caboose progressed.
“I didn’t think there was any hope,” she said of her first sighting of the train car.
But she said she’s now impressed with the improvements and believes the caboose will be an important addition to her old community.
Jim Johnson, 90, of Catlettsburg, said his father, Harlan W. Johnson, used to work at the railroad depot and he’s glad to see a tourist attraction added.
“It’s magnificent,” he said. “It’s just unbelievable the effort applied here to make it beautiful.”