News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Sparta’s city caboose will have a new home at the head of the downtown walking trail.
The city built a three foot deep rock pad for the caboose to sit on. Public Works Director Dillard Quick said the train car will add a unique aspect to the trail.
“A moving company is going to move it for us cause we do not have the means to move anything heavy like that,” Quick said. “I think the thing weighs about 30,000 pounds. I have actually been in contact with him. He is supposed to move it Monday.”
The train caboose was donated to the city last summer from Robert Agee after his oil distribution company went bankrupt. Quick said the oak caboose is an old train relics from when the Upper Cumberland was a railroad hub.
Quick said it has been a long process to move the train car since there were contractor complications. He reported steel ordering issues for the foundational stand during the last council meeting.
“The steel that is going to be used to move the caboose with was under a house that was finished up and they moved the steel out from underneath it,” Quick said. “It’s actually on a foundation now.”
The moving process includes sliding iron pieces underneath the caboose and placing it it on an axle in order to mobilize it. Quick said after the caboose arrives it will need to be painted and cleaned.
