Caboose # 13925

 The Caboose was often referred to as a Waycar by the C. B. & Q. Railroad, and later the Burlington Route. The term waycar is interchangeable with caboose.

Seventy five waycars of the NE-7 class were built between 1912 and 1914 at the C. B. & Q Shops in Aurora, Illinois. Waycar 13925 was the first of 25 built in 1914.  According to C. B. & Q. records the car is 8 foot 6 inches wide and 35 foot, 2 inches long.

The Burlington Railroad donated the caboose to the city of Creston in January of 1970 and it was moved to the Historical Village on August 14th, 1970 by Floyd Abbott.

Some work on the caboose took place in the 1970s, which helped to stop further deterioration.  A plaque on the caboose indicates that John “Red” White was one of leaders in the preservation effort and helped preserve the caboose for another 45+ years.

In the fall 2019 a new group of volunteers took on the task of refurbishing 13925.  The car was stripped of its siding and sheathing, and extensive work was done in replacing rotted sill plates, headers and studs caused by water damage around the windows and cupola. New sheathing, siding and windows were installed. Work was completed in the fall of 2022.

During reconstruction it was discovered the original exterior color was C. B. & Q. Mineral Red and the interior was a pale green. The caboose must have been updated sometime before the Historical Society acquired it because the outside was painted in Chinese Red as it is now, and the interior pale green horizontal car siding was covered up with 1/4 inch plywood and painted a dirty mustard yellow. We opted for the similar, but lighter, brighter shade of yellow it is now.