CP Rail Caboose 434700 - Havelock, ON
Posted by: 
jiggs11
N 44° 25.985 W 077° 53.213
18T E 270234 N 4924030
Former CP Rail Caboose #434700 used as a tourist info centre in Havelock, ON
Waymark Code: WMFT67
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 11/26/2012
Views: 9
The CP Rail Caboose #434700 was built in 1981 for Canadian Pacific.
From NBritto:
"Very rare all-steel 1981 CP-Angus Works Terminal Shunting Caboose. When launched in April 1971, the Canadian-designed and built “all steel” rail caboose was revolutionary for its time. The all weather Canadian cabooses replaced a string of older US-made wood units (while cheap to build, the wood units were particularly dangerous and prone to fire due to the sparking train brakes below). The all-steel “Angus Vans” as they were affectionately dubbed by their crews were exclusively built at CP Rail’s Angus Shops in Montreal, Quebec. Typically manned by a Rear Brakeman or Engineer and with amenities like electric lighting, food refrigeration, electric stoves, short wave radio telephones, incinerating toilets and hydroelectric emergency braking systems, the “Angus Vans” along with the Hawker-Siddeley units purchased by CN Rail (also designed and built in Canada [Montreal and Sidney, Nova Scotia]) served as the backbone of North American rail freight well into the 1990s. In fact, several still remain in active service. The caboose is now a museum and visitor centre for Havelock, Ontario Additionally, CP’s Angus Shop was repurposed during WW2 and served as one of Canada’s largest tank manufacturing facilities, building the Vickers-Armstrong Valentine Mk I–XI for Canada, Great Britain and Russia."
On retirement, it was donated to the Lions Club in Havelock, who in turn converted it into a mini museum/tourist centre, located just north of the CP Havelock yards, along Hwy 7.
The caboose sports CP's famous "CP Rail" logo, as well as those of the Lions Club International.
Current Use:
Quasi info centre/railroad museum.
Type Of Caboose: Extended Vision
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Visit Instructions:
Please visit the location of the caboose, brake van, or guard van, provide visit details through photo or narrative.