_edited.jpg)
EQUIPMENT
In addition to preserving the history of the railroad itself, Lebanon Branch Preservation Trust is working to preserve equipment that operated on the rail lines of Central Kentucky.
L&N Caboose #156
It was built in 1952 by the International Railway Car & Equipment Company for the Monon railroad as their number C-363. Later it was renumbered to 81504, and then was transferred to the L&N in the 1971 L&N-Monon merger. First being L&N number 909, it was later renumbered to 6909, and finally 156. L&N assigned this caboose to their Louisville Division, and at the end of its career it operated on L&N's Lebanon and Greensburg Branches in the late 1970's/early 1980's.
On July 18th, 1980 caboose 156 brought up the rear of the last train to ever leave Greensburg, KY. Finally in 1983 it was retired, and was sold to the conductor who used it, John Coulter, who moved it to his property in Parksville, KY. In 2013 it was sold as part of an estate auction and found its way to northern Alabama. For the last decade it sat on static display at a private residence in Ardmore, Alabama. On February 6th, 2024 L&N 156 was transported by truck and arrived at Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven, KY where it is currently being restored to operational condition.
L&N Caboose #156 in Ardmore, AL.
Robert's Towing loading caboose 156 in Ardmore, AL.
Caboose 156 arriving at Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven, KY.
Caboose 156 sitting on Lebanon Branch rails for the first time in over 40 years.