The second caboose that Traci and I found last Saturday was in the town of Bristow, Oklahoma. It was AT&SF 999334 (painted as Frisco 999334), which is on display as part of the Bristow Train Depot and Museum.
The museum is located on E 6th Avenue, just east of N Main Street. The Depot complex is a block long, and has a neat outdoor area with fire pits, stages and seating areas. You can tell that the city has invested in this part of the town.
As with many museums we are finding, this one was closed as well. We could get up close and personal with the caboose, though, and that helped tremendously. I got some great photos of the caboose, including its couplings and undercarriage. I did not get to go inside (but almost got stung by a bunch of damn wasps in a nest by one of the doors!)
Safety Note from Your Uncle Marc: Look over any caboose area very carefully for stinging insects and snakes BEFORE climbing on them!
The caboose is in great shape, and is very well taken care of. The presence of the wasp nests tells me that no one goes into the caboose regularly, so I don’t expect that it has been fixed up for regular showing or use.
We did not stop and look around the downtown area for very long, but what we did see seems to be thriving very well. There were a number of stores and restaurants (including an all you can eat catfish place, which is my own Kryptonite). Most stores were occupied and the downtown seemed very lived in. That shows a lot about the town.
As with many of the other cabooses we have found, I need to circle back to the museum to get the caboose’s story. For one as well taken care of as this one is, I am betting it has a great story!
Marc
Date Visited: 7/25/2020
