Black Butte Center for Railroad Culture

Pacific Fruit Express Reefer #55224 and Sacramento Northern Boxcar #2349

Constructed within four years of each other (the #55224 in 1923 and the #2349 in 1919), these unique rail cars were both moved to the Black Butte Center for Railroad Culture  (BBCRC) in 2008 from McCloud, CA  where they had been rotting away for years. The reefer car  is an insulated "refrigerator" boxcar once used for hauling fresh fruits and vegetables, and as such serves well as a heated space in the winter. The car required extensive work upon arrival at Black Butte and now serves as the Center’s resource library, art space and theater. The boxcar  likewise needed extensive work and once completed, has served as the BBCRC’s performance space, hosting hundreds of bands and other performances over the last decade. (This coming year the boxcar will be 100 years old, and we want to ensure that it will be around for another 100!)

Constructed of wood and now a century old, both cars are showing severe signs of age and deterioration. They have served the BBCRC well since 2008, but are in need of serious repair and weatherproofing if they are to continue to serve in their unique and important capacities. This is where you come in!

We hope to do a complete makeover of the cars and ensure their usefulness and vitality for the coming decades. Specifically, here is what we aim to do:

-- Replace all tongue-and-groove exterior siding (7056 linear feet)

-- Add modern weatherproofing material (moisture barrier)

-- Caulk, Prime, and Paint both cars

-- Repair and Replace damaged roofing

-- Rebuild the doors for both cars

-- Repair skylights of reefer car 

We had hoped to raise $5000 by the end of 2018 - but have extended the campaign until early May of this year -  to help assist with the upcoming work season’s efforts to get started on ensuring that these rail cars continue to serve the BBCRC and our community in their unique way. Please help us reach our goal!! (NOTE: All donations to BBCRC are tax-deductible).

More detailed history and information on this and all of the BBCRC  historic rail cars at Black Butte 

The BBCRC Library and Art Space inside the Pacific Fruit Express #55224.

Brody and the Bucket Brigade perform in the Sacramento Northern Boxcar #2349 in 2011. The boxcar has hosted hundreds of shows and countless musicians over the past decade.

Great Northern Caboose #X630

In June, 2018 historic GN caboose X630 was moved 50 miles from Dorris, CA  to the grounds of the Black Butte Center for Railroad Culture  (BBCRC) in Weed, CA where it will be preserved.  We were fortunate to receive a grant from the Heritage Fund of the Great Northern Railway Historical Society  to assist with moving the car to the BBCRC, but it fell short of the full expenses of transporting the car.

The rail car was built in August, 1926 at the Great Northern  shops in St. Cloud, MN. It is similar to other 25 foot wooden GN cabooses except that it features an unusually heavy steel frame giving it a distinctive look. The heavy-duty steel frame, re-purposed from a GN steam locomotive tender , was used to ensure the caboose could handle the stress of use in "pusher" service on mountain grades. It reportedly was one of only ten such cabooses constructed.

Following retirement in 1963 it was transferred to Weyerhaeuser Lumber Company for use on the Oregon, California & Eastern Railroad, based in Klamath Falls, OR where it was first painted yellow. It was retired years later and sold into private ownership in Dorris, CA where it has remained for decades until being donated to the BBCRC in 2018. GN X630 still has many of its historical features and with some restoration work has great potential as a wooden pre-WWII caboose. We intend for it to provide visitors with an experience of what such a caboose - and the life of a trainman - was like back in this era. 

It is generally in good shape but needs some rehabilitation:
-- new roof on the cupola end of car
-- new running boards the length of the car
-- caulking and waterproofing
-- limited replacement of interior siding
-- painting inside and out
-- new hardware and upholstery
-- window glass replacement

We had originally hoped to raise $5000 for this car by the end of 2018. We have extended the deadline until early May in order to pay off the moving expenses and to complete its rehabilitation in 2019. Please help us reach our goal!! (NOTE: All donations to BBCRC are tax-deductible).

More detailed history and information on this and all of the BBCRC  historic rail cars at Black Butte 

Inside of the GN caboose #X630 in the summer of 2018