December 29, 2021 was the date of lift off. The date we thought we would see the beautiful caboose lifted onto the transport trailer and heading down to Montross, Virginia. We had our permits for each state, check. We had our caboose lifted onto the transport trailer, check. We had our rotators ready in Montross, check. Because we were in Delaware and we needed to go through Maryland AND it just happened to be a holiday weekend, we learned we weren't going anywhere. Factor in that we were standing 16 feet high and we needed all new permits...for each state! And we could no longer take the route we planned. We would have to go about 400 miles out of our way to get this caboose to her final resting place. Luckily, we had time. Plenty of it. Buying and moving a caboose means bending and weaving and changing directions. We enjoy a bit of mystery in our lives. And figuring out when we could make the starts align for this journey was just that, a mystery. Luckily, our driver Kyle of Florida Georgia Equipment LLC had time too...and other jobs to keep him busy.
Here she would sit at the Delaware Coast Line Railroad...until February 2022!
We had to have loads of rock delivered to make sure the road to the track was firm and ready for Michaels Towing AND the tractor trailer to drive on. Walker Stone & Gravel came to the rescue! They even went out of their way to make sure we got a third load in place, just in time.
Our granddaughter Capri sees the train caboose! The train, the train!
It was a beautiful site to see here at the "Ol' Self Homestead". It was a long time waiting and the caboose has arrived!
The long backing to get the caboose into place behind the "Ol' Self Homestead". We call it the "1909 House" here at 10-7 at Big Land.
Michaels Towing out of Fredericksburg were awesome! These guys troubleshooted the area to make sure we could get this all lined up with the wet soil. Lots of rain made things very difficult.
And just like that! Boom! She's in the air and set down carefully onto the 2 pins that hold the body to the trucks. You wouldn't believe that gravity is the force that keeps this on the tracks...it is truly amazing.
A success!
A group effort! Our team and the guys at Michaels Towing!
Mary & Kurt
Capri and Troy checking out the undercarriage! That track looks good!
Views for miles in the cupola! This is where you want to spend all your indoor time.
Fields of beauty...
Our Director of Operations, Erin Rigmaiden and our VP, Mike Scheller.(We know.)
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