Conductor Ken Smith and brakeman Dan Forsman, on stairs, board an Alaska Railroad caboose as they prepare to depart the Anchorage rail yard for Wasilla where the car was delivered to its new owner on October 15, 2009. John Whitney, who rode the caboose Thursday, had the winning bid in an auction to buy the caboose, which he says was manufactured in 1947 and delivered to Alaska the following year. Cabooses have been phased out of use on Alaska Railroad, many taken out of service a decade ago. Before then the cars provided a place for trainmen to monitor the safety of the train from the cupola and also had a backup system for applying the brakes. Cabooses often had stoves for heat and gave shelter and office space for crews. Whitney, a life-long railroad buff, says the caboose will reside at the Alaska Live Steamers in Wasilla, where he'll work to restore it.
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