Caboose towed from Streator to Wenona

Jeff Senica has been a tow truck operator for more than 40 years, and he described Wednesday’s haul of a caboose from Streator to Wenona as a twice- or thrice-a-lifetime event.

His tow truck company, Senica Interstate Towing on Route 6 in La Salle, has towed many different vehicles along the coast-to-coast Interstate 80, but it doesn’t compare to moving a 1950s-era caboose from the backyard of a neighborhood museum.

“It makes your blood flow and gets the adrenaline pumping,” he said. “When you have 30 to 40 people watching, it’s more exciting. You have pressure because you don’t want to look bad.

“Thankfully, that’s when your years of experience kick in. And thankfully it was made easier by the other people working on the project with us.”

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The Burlington Northern 11408 caboose, apparently built in 1954, was moved Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, from the former Streatorland Historical Society to Wenona. Crews from MJ Track Works Inc. work to detach the wheels from the caboose. ( Tom Sistak For Shaw Media )

Between Streator and Wenona, dozens of people gathered to watch the maneuver.

A makeshift railroad track was built by MJ Track Works Inc. of Streator to pull the caboose from the backyard of the former Streatorland Historical Society museum to the Vermillion Street curb.

Once there, Senica hoisted the caboose into the air and placed it onto a low-bed trailer. Track Works helped with detaching the wheels and operating the brakes of the caboose.

The caboose was driven 16 miles southwest to downtown Wenona, where it was hoisted up again and placed on display mere hours later.

It is paired with the one-room schoolhouse Moore School, where the city is planning a historical park.

“I think it’s a great addition to our city,” Wenona Mayor Janie Bade said. “It allows us to have more attractions downtown.”

Since the Streatorland Historical Society moved in May 2022 from Vermillion Street to its location on Park Street across from City Park, it has been looking for a new home for the caboose.

The new museum doesn’t have the space to put the caboose on display, and other options around the community were not suitable, said David Reed, president of the Streatorland Historical Society.

“We’re sad to see it go, but we’re happy where it ended up,” Reed said. “It’s more of a display now. The public can see it, instead of it being squeezed somewhere where it couldn’t be appreciated. Now that it’s set up, I think it’s something a lot more people can enjoy.”

The timing was perfect for Wenona’s historical society. The group has been working on projects to tell its community history, with the acquisition of the one-room schoolhouse and the preservation of Coal Miners Memorial Park.

Since the community was established along the Illinois Central and Chicago & Alton railroad routes, the caboose was a natural fit, especially coming from Streator, which shared that Chicago & Alton route.

The caboose is on display along Chestnut Street (also Route 251) on a former railroad track with a railroad crossing sign beside it.

The historical society is hoping to get a plaque explaining the city’s railroad history and possibly an old depot to put near it.

Former Wenona Mayor Zachary North helped put the historical society in touch with MJ Track Works, owned by Mario Arevalo, which donated its labor for the effort.

His son Luis said the company has conducted similar projects, helping to preserve old cabooses, railcars and engines.

“It all turned out pretty good,” Luis A. Arevalo said.

Senica said Wednesday’s tow was exciting. His brother Frank, son Jeffrey and grandson Drake all took part in the effort.

“It was really something – and a lot of fun,” Senica said. “I’ll be telling my kids and my grandkids about this one for years.”