North Western Pacific 6101

Constructed in 1901-02 at the North Shore Railroad's shop in Sausalito, California as car #2002, this 36-inch gauge caboose served the scenic Marin County narrow gauge system. When the North Shore RR merged into the Northwestern Pacific Railroad in 190*X*, it was renumbered as NWP #6101 in 19*X*, then subsequently renumbered to NWP #5591 in 1914. The car was retired in May 1930 following the abandonment of NWP's narrow gauge operations.

The carbody entered a 29-year secondary life as a shed on a farm near Point Reyes, California from the 193*s to 1959. It was donated to California State Parks in 1959 and displayed in unrestored condition at Samuel P. Taylor State Park through the 1960s. The car was subsequently donated to the Pacific Coast Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society in San Francisco.

A controversial restoration was undertaken at the Bethlehem Steel Company shipyard in San Francisco during 1969-1970, preparing the car for static display as a ""generic"" railroad caboose. This restoration applied a non-authentic paint and lettering scheme representing NWP 5591, and incorporated components from other equipment including West Side Lumber Company log car trucks and an SP caboose stove. The car was initially stored for a proposed railroad museum near Aquatic Park in San Francisco, but this museum plan was abandoned. It was then held for the proposed California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento.

The R&LHS donated the car to the California State Railroad Museum in 197*X*, where it was placed on a trailer for movable display at the State Fair. Despite this preparation, the car was never placed on formal display at CSRRM and was eventually deaccessioned in 2*0*X* and donated to SPCRR. Following offsite storage from 2*0*X* to 2*X*X*, the car arrived at Ardenwood in 2*X*X*.

SPCRR volunteers undertook an extensive authentic restoration from 2*X*X* to 2025, returning the car to its 1909 appearance as NWP #6101. This restoration earned certification for public passenger operation in 2023, and the car entered revenue service on SPCRR's passenger train in 2024.

* Unknown date information, closest confident date range used. 
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A 124-page restoration report by Kevin Bunker is availiable to individuals to who donate $15 or more to our museum. 

This is much more than a technical report. The text, photos, and drawings reads like a fascinating history book and encompasses the complex history that took place during the working life of the caboose... from the 1906 Earthquake, to mergers and acquisitions, to a shipbuilder trying to save the caboose, and more.

You can see a preview of the restoration report at the link below: