This is a former SEPTA (southeastern PA Transit Authority) subway car that was dollied up back 25 years ago and towed from Philadelphia to the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. It sat for 25 years there and recently was purchased by another RR museum in Kingston, NY. They contacted me to move it. I spent 3 days up in Maine prepping this car for a safe 300-mile journey, by replacing all eight 11.00 x 24.5 tires and a broken spring. It has an old trailer suspension stuffed under it, so I fixed everything and got the brakes working and welded a bunch more supports and gussets up to ensure that it would stay together. Had an old Japanese Freightliner day cab White s/a tractor hooked to it that was just so far gone the door handles broke off when I tried to get in it. Hercules easily dragged it out from under the car and I blocked it all up and got hooked up to it on Memorial Day this year, and it is currently sitting in my yard here in VT. I've done some small things to it like pressure washed it off and whatnot to prep it for its final 150 mile trip down to Kingston, NY as soon as they're ready for it.
My Dad had a Rock Island caboose. We gave it to a place and they moved it a few weeks ago. It was to tall to move upright so they laid it on it side. The farm i live at now has a Milwaukee Road box car on it . It needs to be moved around to a diffrent spot on this farm some day.
I moved an old B&M boxcar last week that I had to lay on its side to haul due to height. The cabooses I move unfortunately are usually finished living spaces inside, so I can't lay them over; I have to permit them accordingly to move.
I saw a caboose that had a set of wheels behind it and a hitch on the front of it . I guess they were moving it a lot . I wish i could see it agin.
I've got access to a caboose moving dolly just as you described, that is made from a trailer suspension with fabricated boxed tube drop down beams that go quite a ways underneath the car, and we put 24" x 1.5" bolts through the beams and through the caboose frame to fasten it together. Then a wrecker tows it like a normal towed piece.
I just saw this thread, so I’m a little late to reply. My neighbor had an old caboose in his back yard for years - kind of a “man cave” way before the term got popular. He gave it to a kid down the road who wanted to put it in his front yard to display. The kid built a nice gravel pad to put the caboose on, but when they tried to move it one day, it fell apart! Pretty sad!
I know three people who own a caboose. Two are far from the nearest railroad track. Not a simple task to move them. One now needs to be moved from Weston VT to Manchester VT. Its present location is out in the woods. Where in VT are you located?
It doesn't look like he's been online for a while. If you zoom in on the picture of his forklift you can see his business info.
I guess it says Vernon.
Yep. His phone number is on there too.