Patricia Temples Photography

Caboose

In March 2013 I had an adventure in the lovely community of Rapidan, Virginia. This is a very historic town that straddles the border of two counties on either side of the Rapidan River. Among other treasures I found here was a caboose. The caboose was badly weathered, sitting on a section of train track near the old Train Station. I learned that this caboose, built in 1922, was moved to Rapidan from the community of Piney River in Nelson County in 1970. I loved photographing this caboose, both from a distance and looking closely at details of the deteriorating wood. The first day I was there, March 23, was a beautiful day with blue skies and green grass. On March 25, it snowed, and I returned to get more images.

The photograph above of the caboose with the train station was entered into the Piedmont Environmental Council’s annual photo contest and won first place in the Community category.

On March 22, 2023, I made a journey to the new home of this caboose. Or, I should say, it’s original home. In 2015, this caboose was returned to Piney River in Nelson County where it was restored. It now resides at the Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail, next to the original depot. The walking trail beside the depot was the location of the train tracks. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the original photos were taken almost exactly ten years before these new ones.

By clicking on the first image below you can go to an article about the trail. There is a photograph from 1959 that shows the depot and the train on the tracks. It is quite an interesting article.

You may view photos from Rapidan, including two of the caboose, at my photography show in Stanardsville, Va, April through June 2023.