The Bowie Caboose

Norfolk and Western Railroad's CF Class Caboose #518-303 was built at the East End Shops in Roanoke, Virginia, in April 1922. Although the Norfolk and Western did not serve Bowie, it did enter Maryland at Hagerstown. After nearly fifty years of service, the caboose was retired to a scrap yard, rescued, and given to the city of Bowie in 1972. It stood in Allen Pond Park, suffered a fire in the late 70s, was relocated to the museum in 2000, and then restored on the exterior. It appears to have a historic connection to the Bowie area and the Pope's Creek Railroad line running from Bowie to Southern Maryland; while not conclusive, it is the same class of caboose as the Bowie Railroad Station Museum's piece and is considered very likely to be the Bowie Caboose after active service on the Norfolk and Western. By that era, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company controlled the Norfolk and Western. A caboose customarily brought up the end of a freight train, allowing crewmen to watch how freight cars were functioning, providing space to rest and eat, and displaying marker lights to show the end of the train and warn approaching trains. From the cupola, the crew could view the length of the train, and the interior included a toilet and washbasin, a coal stove for heat and cooking, two oil lamps, an ice box, and two sets of upper and lower bunks.

Bowie, Maryland · United States