QUICK FACTS

Model: CR class N-21 bay window caboose
Built: September 1978
Builder: Fruit Growers Express, Alexandria, VA
Past Railroad Owners: Conrail, Norfolk Southern, Delmarva Central
Current Owner: The Conrail Historical Society (leased to and operated by TOYX, Inc.)

Caboose No. 21292 was built in September of 1978 by Fruit Growers Express (FGE) at their plant in Alexandria, Virginia. It was built new for the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail), which was formed in 1976 by the federal government by combining parts of six bankrupt railroads in the northeastern United States. For much of its career, this bay-window caboose was assigned to the coalfields around West Brownsville, Pennsylvania, serving as a rolling office for the conductor on the rear of jointly-operated Conrail/Monongahela Railroad coal trains.

Around June of 1994, the No. 21292 became one of the very few cabooses on Conrail’s roster (less than 10 out of over 2,500 total cars) to be repainted with the railroad’s new “Conrail Quality” logo. It was reassigned to service on the Delmarva peninsula.

When Conrail was split up on June 1, 1999, the No. 21292 was part of the 58 percent of Conrail that was transferred to the Norfolk Southern Railway (the remaining 42 percent was purchased by CSX Transportation). The No. 21292 remained in local service out of Harrington, Delaware, where it had been stationed in its last years of Conrail ownership. In the early 2000s, it was assigned to NS train H93 every weekday, operating around Delmar and Salisbury, Delaware. The car was eventually taken out of service for a rebuild that was never completed. In 2016, ownership of the No. 21292 was passed to the Delmarva Central Railroad, which took over Norfolk Southern’s rail lines on the Delmarva peninsula.

In April of 2019, the Delmarva Central donated the No. 21292 (in its full 1994 Conrail paint job) to be used for additional volunteer capacity on Operation Toy Train’s annual Toys for Tots collection trains. However, the car was severely delayed from leaving Delaware for over two and a half years due to a host of mechanical issues. Several of these issues, including missing parts and broken safety appliances, were repaired or replaced by members of The Garbely Publishing Company’s staff on location at the caboose’s storage location in Harrington, Delaware on a volunteer basis. The No. 21292 was finally moved to Kenvil, New Jersey in December of 2021.

However, due to the delays and the changing needs of the growing organization, Operation Toy Train had already sourced alternative cabooses and railcars by the time this car arrived in New Jersey. When it became apparent that the car was no longer needed by the organization, and that there were not plans or funds in place to properly restore it, it was offered for sale. The Garbely Publishing Company purchased the No. 21292 on May 11, 2022. GPCo undertook a series of mechanical and other preparations in Kenvil prior to moving the car to Port Jervis, where it arrived on December 11, 2022.

On September 6, 2024, GPCo graciously traded this car to The Conrail Historical Society in return for their caboose No. 22130. The No. 21292 will be returned to its 1994 Conrail exterior appearance, complete with the “Conrail Quality” logo, by CRHS volunteers.