A Monroeville family’s historical caboose has a new temporary home.
The beloved red caboose from the 1940s was moved recently from the Segar’s backyard to Forbes Road Career and Technical School along Beatty Road.
“It was an exciting day in the process in getting the caboose to live on,” said Brett Segar, the man behind the project. The caboose belonged to his father, the late Bill Segar, for the past 15 years.
Bill Segar, who had a passion for model trains and tracks, died in June 2018 at the age of 83. He was involved with several community organizations, including Monroeville Baseball Association and the Monroeville Rotary Club.
Brett Segar said his father bought the caboose shortly after retiring as engineering director for Bombardier Transportation, and he worked to renovate it to house his collection of model trains and tracks.
While at the school, the caboose will be refurbished by students so that it can be placed in a permanent spot in Monroeville Community Park West, Segar said. The work will include a new paint job, installing a heating and cooling unit in the floor and installing Plexiglass in the windows.
Segar said the project will be great for students studying different areas of construction.
He said the project still needs funds and volunteers.
“We want to talk to anyone who wants to get involved with the project,” he said. “I’ll find something to get them involved in — the more people the better.”
For the move, Segar said the group used Brownlee Trucking of Washington County — a project that cost around $6,000.
In total, the Rotary Club of Monroeville has raised around $13,000 from GoFundMe, VisitMonroeville and UPMC East, said Monroeville Manager Tim Little, president of Rotary. The organization is sponsoring the caboose project fundraising efforts.
Segar hopes to raise around $25,000 for the entire project — which includes purchasing material for the caboose’s rebuild, moving it and situating it in Monroeville Community Park West.
The GoFundMe page can be found at bit.ly/2NzPLTD.
