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Old CPR caboose and plow arriving today

Update on when the caboose and plow donated by Canadian Pacific Rail will make it to Nakusp.
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The Nakusp Rail Committee

After much planning and a few delays, the Nakusp Rail Committee will be bringing the caboose and plow, donated by the Canada Pacific Railway (CPR), to Nakusp by the start of the weekend.

Members of the rail committee have been in Revelstoke over the course of several days making final preparations for the journey to Nakusp. The preparations are necessary, as there will be a lot to move.

“On the day of shipment there’s going to be a bit of a convoy,” said Tracy Fetters, president of the Nakusp Rail Committee. “There will be two flat decks, a truck, a dump truck with a trailer, and there will be another truck with a trailer.”

The caboose will go on one flat bed, while the plow goes on a second one. The wheels of the unit, which are called trucks, will go on the truck, then one cupola is going to go on the dump truck, while the other is going to go on the trailer.

The cupola is the top section of the unit. With the plow it’s where the operator controls everything and is able to look out the window. They’re being taken off temporarily in order to reduce the height of the convoys and eliminate the need for equipment to lift power lines or telephone lines.

One issue the committee was facing in terms of transit was a weight issue. This turned out to be a mix-up with the original permit. When applying for their various permits, the rail committee had stated the weight of the project was 85,000 pounds. Somehow that was accidentally written as 85,000 kilograms, over double their actual amount.

Once the caboose and plow get to Nakusp, renovations on the two are set to begin. This will take a while to complete, as there is much to be done, including replacing anything that has wood rot, replacing the frames around the windows, and other restorative works.

“As soon as we get them here we can start looking at getting them renovated,” said Fetters. “If anyone comes crawling out of the woodwork who has woodworking skills, we have some things that need to be manufactured to replace some stuff in there.”

At least one of the two pieces is expected to make it to Nakusp today.