Livingston is moving forward with plans to create a new caboose mini park after purchasing a $27,000 caboose.
Main Street Historic District Commission Chairman Gene Gantt said city officials believed the property housing the old railroad bed could be put to good use. Gantt said the mini-park would not only provide new community space but also honor Livingston’s rich railroad history.
“Livingston was one of the top producers of poultry in the entire state, Livingston and Overton County,” Gantt said. “In addition to that, we had logs, lumber, that kind of thing that we could get out to markets that we were not able to reach before.”
Gantt said the railroad was vital to Livingston before it left the town in the 1930s.
Gantt said the city plans to build several pavilions with picnic tables throughout the railroad bed and build a structure to display pictures and memorabilia. Gantt said the caboose will be the intriguing piece of the park, as people will get to take a peek back at history.
“It is all original inside,” Gantt said. “So you can look in it and see what railroad life would have been like in a caboose back in the day. The chairs are still in there, the old stove, the tanks, and everything is still intact.”
Gantt said the city has begun planning a mini-park even though the caboose has not been delivered yet. Gantt said building a mini park around the caboose is tremendously exciting.
“I know that park and that train or that caboose will be there long after I’m gone,” Gantt said. “So it’s something that the community can appreciate for now and into the future. And help the young folks understand what the railroad contributed to our growth here and what made us the town that we are.”
Gantt said the plan is to have an event where people can watch the caboose be installed. Gantt said more information about the event will come out at a later time.
