Association opens restored 1917 caboose

The Lewes Junction Railroad and Bridge Association held the first open house for its restored 1917 Pennsylvania Railroad caboose Aug. 6 near Stango Park. 

Tours are planned from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sundays twice a month through at least December. Go to lewesjunctionrr.org for more information.

The caboose was purchased from the defunct Delaware Coast Line Railroad. Volunteers did most of the restoration work, and it was painted bright red by a contractor. The caboose is the first piece in a planned rolling stock exhibit highlighting Lewes’ railroad history.

The association is planning restoration of a donated steam engine currently stored at the Wilmington and Western Railroad yard near Wilmington. David Ludlow, association director, said the engine is the last one of its kind in the nation. He said the association would prefer to move the engine to Lewes so local contractors and volunteers can work on restoration. If not, upstate contractors will have to be hired.

“Right now, we are looking for a building where we can store and work on the engine,” he said.

For more information on helping the association, contact Ludlow at 302-559-1254 or at dludlow@lewesjunctionrr.org.

The caboose operated under DCLR’s banner on the tracks that served the SPI Pharma facility. The caboose also saw service on the Queen Anne’s Railroad, a tourist train in operation during the early 1990s. The last train service to Lewes was in 2007.

A 210-foot portion of original track was preserved by the City of Lewes and Delaware Department of Transportation for the railroad history park after the line was decommissioned in 2017. The association previously partnered with both entities to save and display the historic railroad swing bridge that spanned the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal for 106 years. That bridge is now permanently displayed along the rail-to-trail at the intersection of American Legion Road.