"Cab Car Meets Caboose at Koemer"
On the morning of November 18th, 2021, Long Island Rail Road train 203 crosses Kroemer Avenue in Riverhead, NY, while ex-Missouri Pacific caboose 13456 approaches by truck in the distance.
Missouri Pacific Railroad (MP) cabooses 13456 (exx-MP 1191) & 13388 (exx-MP 1054) were both constructed from boxcar frames at the railroad's shops in Sedalia, MO during the early 1950s. Both served until 1981, when the MP phased out cabooses in favor of End of Train Devices (EOTDs). The cabooses were sold to the National Tube Works in Pennsylvania, then purchased (along with ex-P&LE boxcar 25624) by Frederick Cowan & Company which was located on the Kroemer Siding just off of the LIRR Main Line in Riverhead, NY. Sometime after the three pieces of equipment were delivered in the late 1980's, the siding was severed from the national rail network. The railcars sat as storage space for decades until being donated to the Twin Forks Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society by the property's new owner in 2019. They were finally moved to their new home at the Twin Forks Chapter's property across from the Riverhead train station on November 18th, 2021 with the assistance of Long Island Crane & Rigging Inc, Rapid Recovery Towing Ltd, the Long Island Rail Road and a small team of volunteers.
