Sumpter Valley Ry. Caboose #6

SVRR Archive has a few negatives that were taken by Ivan Ergish of which this is one. It is a great shot of Sumpter Valley Ry. caboose #6 while in service. The shot was taken at Austin timetable east of the water tank, depot and engine house. I suspect that the lumber train is timetable west setting out empties and picking up loads outside of Bates. Note that it says on the side of the caboose built in 1925. This was actually a rebuild date, the actual date having been 1917. Even that date may not have been fully correct as like with caboose #5, it may have been reconstructed from an earlier car. Caboose #6 survives today at SVRR. Sadly, it lost its passenger / caboose trucks along with its brake system and full size couplers when it was parted out for scrap after the mainline was abandoned. There is another thing of note in this photo. If you look beyond the caboose out to the distance you can see the remains of a mill. I suspect that this was the Gardiner Mill.