The Little Red Caboose

By Jim Louden

Oneonta was once one of the busiest railroad towns in upstate New York and the rail yard was the largest major employer in the city.  Still, one relic from Oneonta’s days as a railroad center still exists.  It’s the little red caboose enshrined in glass in the Neahwa Park.  It has been called the “most historic railroad car in America.”  It was deemed so important to our nation’s history that the Smithsonian Institution in Washington tried to obtain it.  In this program, Jim will tell us the history of the red caboose and why it was so important in our nation’s history.  He is an Oneonta historian, a graduate of the State University of Oneonta, a railroad buff, and the author of several books of local history.

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