City To Display Refurbished Caboose PALESTINE, TX -- Motorists along Spring Street soon may find railroad cars on both sides of the road. A refurbished Union Pacific caboose that has been on display at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University will be moved to the Palestine Visitor Information Center to commemorate the city's historical ties to the railroad industry. The caboose is owned by the Texas State Railroad, which will loan the caboose to the city on a long-term agreement approved unanimously Monday night by the Palestine City Council. Terms of the 20-year agreement call for the caboose to be transported by Union Pacific from College Station to Palestine, and once in place, for the city to assume maintenance costs for the car. City Manager Dale Brown said that the city has wanted to include at least one railcar on display at the visitors center, which itself is a former train depot, located across the street from the Union Pacific yard. “The plan always was to put a caboose or some sort of railroad equipment (there) to continue the heritage of the railway in Palestine,” Brown told council members prior to their vote. “Several months ago, representatives of Union Pacific and Texas Parks and Wildlife approached the city about the fact that the caboose that has been on display at the George Bush Library at College Station, which is owned by the Texas State Railroad, was about to be relocated, removed from the exhibit at the museum and whether the city would like to have that caboose located at the visitors center. “The city responded positively and we now have a long-term lease of the caboose from the Texas State Railroad to allow it to be located on city property.” The exhibit, “Trains: Tracks of the Iron Horse,” ran from Nov. 7, 2005 to July 30 at the presidential library. While the majority of the exhibit was inside the museum, the caboose was placed outside along the edge of the parking lot in front of the library. Mayor Carolyn Salter said she was pleased for the city to have the opportunity to display the caboose, and for the role being played by Union Pacific to help make it happen. “I want to thank Union Pacific for their help,” Salter said. “They’re going to do some work on it and that's going to be really a delightful addition to the area.” According to Brown, the caboose will be moved to Palestine sometime in the next few weeks. The council had been informed of the possibility of attaining the caboose earlier in the summer during a work session, at which time city officials indicated that a platform would have to be designed and constructed to properly hold the caboose. - Beth Foley, The Palestine Herald
