In about 1985 someone in Quesnel thought that the city was in need of a caboose, so the mayor went out and purchased one from the
for $1.07 (There was GST on cabooses then). The city had it moved to the major park, Lebourdais Park, beside the visitor centre and museum. When purchased, the caboose was in less than pristine condition, its condition even drawing derisive comments in the local newspaper. After a budget busting restoration, the city came to look on old 1843 with fondness, especially the younger residents.
It remained there until March of 1995. It was at this time that an executive decision was made when a building was moved to the park to house the headquarters of the
Society. The executive decision made was to remove the caboose to "avoid cluttering the park" with too many structures.
Old 1843 remained in storage for over two years. In September of 1997, when the new West Fraser Timber Park was sufficiently completed The Rotarians provided the funding and the labour to move 1843 to said park.
CABOOSE No. 1843
THE CITY OF QUESNEL THANKS BRITISH COLUMBIA RAILWAY FOR DONATING THIS CABOOSE TO OUR COMMUNITY.
No. 1843 IS BEING DISPLAYED HERE AS A LASTING TRIBUTE TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THE RAILWAY TO QUESNEL AND AREA.
THIS UNIT SERVED THE C.P.R. FROM 1914 AS A WOOD BOX-CAR & WAS CONVERTED TO A CABOOSE BY THE P.G.E RAILWAY IN 1957.
QUESNEL WAS THE NORTHERN TERMINUS FOR THE PACIFIC GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY FROM 1921 TO 1952, WHEN THE TRACKS WERE EXTENDED TO PRINCE GEORGE.
MR. MAC NORRIS, PRESIDENT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA RAILWAY OFFICIALLY PRESENTED CABOOSE No. 1843 TO THE CITY OF QUESNEL JULY 20, 1985.
From the Historical Marker at the Caboose
STOP THAT CABOOSE!
April 17, 1985 | Quesnel Cariboo Observer
City council is holding up the $1.07 purchase of a B.C. Railway caboose. The question of where to put the proposed tourist attraction and the cost of upgrading the antique unit were of prime concern. Mayor Mike Pearce negotiated the caboose deal during a trip to Vancouver earlier this year.
He told council the caboose would be a natural attraction for kids to enjoy and that it should be located in Lebourdais Park adjacent to the tourist bureau. Some $5,000 has been budgeted for improvements to the unit. Renovations, painting and installation costs, however, are expected to exceed that cost.
Said the mayor: "It's a bargain for $1.07." Council voted to send the issue to its planning committee for discussion after listening to potential cost problems. Noted city administrator Al Miller when asked possible renovation costs: " To say this diplomatically, it needs some work."
From the Quesnel Cariboo Observer
End of the Line ...for now
March 26, 1995 | Quesnel Cariboo Observer
End of the Line ...for now
No more pretending you are a conductor, no more pretending you are riding the rails, no more caboose in LeBourdais Park. The caboose has been a landmark in the park since 1989. Six years of admiration from children, adults, visitors and residents.
It was proposed that the Billy Barker Days Building be moved to the site that the Caboose occupied. The Billy Barker Days building now sits on the site for the proposed Senior building so it must be moved.
City Planner Bruce Simard said, "The caboose will be moved to the City Works Yard. We don't want too many structures to clutter the park so one had to be moved and the caboose was the one." In the future, the caboose will be incorporated into the park on Johnson Flats, whenever the development schedule will allow it."
Is it the end of the line for Ouesnel's caboose or will it become situated in a permanent home soon?
On Wednesday, March 22, a large crane and flatbed truck came to remove the caboose. It's temporary home will be the City Works Yard. It will remain in limbo until the new recreation site on Johnson Flats is finished.
No more pretend conductors, no more railriders, no more kids climbing all over it, and no more admiration from residents and visitors alike.
From the Quesnel Cariboo ObserverRotary Club completes
local railway landmark
September 14, 1997 | Quesnel Cariboo Observer
Local Rotarians complete the move of a historic caboose to the new West Fraser Timber Park.
MEMBERS OF the Quesnel Rotary Club were on hand to help the City of Quesnel recently by relocating the Pacific Great Eastern Railway caboose to its final resting place in the new West Fraser Timber Park.
Local Rotarians picked up the tab for the move and supplied the volunteer labour for the landscaped pathways and shrub gardens that surround the 83-year-old caboose.
British Columbia Railway President Mac Norris donated Caboose number 1843 to the City in 1985. The caboose started out as a wooden box car for the CPR in 1914 and was converted by the PGE to a caboose in 1957.
Quesnel was the northern terminus of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway from 1921 to 1952, when the tracks were extended north to Prince George, and later to Fort Nelson.
From the Quesnel Cariboo Observer