THE VIRGINIAN CABOOSE

The Virginian Railway system, owned by Henry Huttleston Rogers, a Standard Oil millionaire, came to Princeton in 1905. The Virginian Railroad was started primarily to transport bituminous from Southern West Virginia to the Atlantic Ocean. Eventually the Virginian also transported passengers, freight, baggage and mail. The Virginian Princeton Shop consisted of four buildings: car, coach, erecting and machine. There was also a train yard and round-house. All the major work for the Virginian was done at the Princeton Shop which averaged the building of five coal cars per day.

This ornament represents a typical Virginian Caboose. In 1949 Milton E. Brookman, General Foreman of the Virginian Motive Power Car Department traveled to St. Louis to oversee the construction of 25 steel cabooses. The caboose was used as an office and living quarters for the conductor and brakeman and bought up the rear of trains moving coal, passengers, and freight. Through the years, The Princeton Shop constructed more than 100 of the traditional wooden cabooses and eventually constructed twenty-five of the steel cabooses.

The Virginian Caboose Number 308 , similar to the one shown in the ornament, was donated by the Norfolk-Southern Corporation to the City of Princeton, West Virginia. The Virginian relic was restored, thanks to the effort of the Caboose Restoration Committee and many area business leaders. Number 308 was dedicated at a ceremony on January 27, 1991.

The Virginian Caboose Number 308 will return to familiar grounds when it is moved from its current location on the Princeton City Hall property to the new Princeton Railroad Museum.

Written By: The Olde Town Princeton Foundation, Inc.

The price of this year's ornament is $20, the first increase in price since we began this project in 1993.

All ornaments prior to 2009 can still be purchased for the old price of $15.