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A consensus of the Windsor Town Council on Tuesday, Oct. 8, was to encourage Mayor George Stubbs and Town Manager William Saunders to look into the possibility of either purchasing or relocating to Windsor a vintage red railroad caboose currently on display in Suffolk.

As he introduced the matter to council members on Oct. 8, Stubbs said, “I was contacted by Mr. Albert Burckard about a railroad caboose that is located behind the Harris Teeter store down off of Shoulders Hill Road.”

Stubbs said the caboose needs to be moved from that location in Suffolk due to some development that is going to be taking place in that area. 

“It was thought it might be a good fit for the town of Windsor,” he said.

Stubbs indicated that the current owner of the caboose is Bishard Homes.

“I don’t know whether they’re trying to just have it relocated off of the property or whether they’re interested in selling — I don’t know yet,” Stubbs said. 

He noted that no cost estimates have been provided yet with regard to this matter, but he highlighted several actions that would likely incur expenses:

• Moving the caboose;
• Establishing a permanent location for it in town;
• Renovating the caboose; and
• Maintaining it.

“It’s up to council to tell me how you want us to proceed,” Stubbs said. “Are you interested in trying to obtain this caboose?”

Councilman Jake Redd said, “I think it’s a great idea, but I’ve always thought that Windsor should have one of those freight trains somewhere, sitting out for people who pass by. It’s a train town.”

He mentioned that Portsmouth and other towns in Virginia have train displays.

“I think it’s a neat thing in all the places that have them, they look real cool, and they highlight the historical value and especially just the fact that Windsor is a train (town),” he said.

He trailed off as a train could be heard passing by outside at that very moment, evoking laughter from those at the meeting due to the timeliness of it.

“It proves my point,” Redd said with a chuckle.

Councilman Marlin W. Sharp asked if it would be possible to obtain public or possibly even private donations to pay for expenses related to the caboose so that the town would not be totally responsible for the costs.

“There may be some organizations out there,” Stubbs said. “We have not pursued any of that yet. There are a lot of railroad buffs around.”

In summary, Sharp said, “I agree with Mr. Redd. I think (the caboose) would be a great addition to the town.”

The mayor acknowledged that there may also be some other people interested in obtaining the caboose.

Redd said, “I know it’s probably a pretty decent-sized project to undertake, honestly, because you need the whole setup to make it right, it needs to be redone,” but he said he thought it would be worth it to try to obtain the caboose.

After determining the consensus of the council, Stubbs said he and Saunders would work together, looking into the possibilities.