A collaborative, community-driven effort has brought colour back to the Sicamous caboose.
The former CP Rail car at Finlayson Park was recently repainted an orange-yellow hue, the colour it would have been before it was decommissioned and donated to Sicamous in 2004.
Tia Ciseralla-Lemieux, who is part of a volunteer committee working on restoring the caboose, said the next step is redoing the original lettering on the caboose, including the white and black “Pac-Man” CP logo at the back.
“We were surprised with how fast we pulled it all together,” said Ciseralla-Lemieux, noting there was some concern with the weather, and not being able to find painters who could do the work in time before judges from Communities in Bloom (CIB) visited the community.
Ciseralla-Lemieux, Cori Miller and others formed the restoration committee in June, after the caboose had been painted white by the District of Sicamous which had intended to cover the railcar in district branding. The move prompted an outpouring of support in the community for restoring the piece of local history to its original colours.
The committee raised about $5,500, which covered the cost of the restoration work. Ciseralla-Lemieux said help was received from the Revelstoke Railway Museum, and the Nakusp Rail Society which was able to provide stencils, swatches and colour codes needed to repaint the caboose.
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“They have the same year caboose that we do so they loaned them to us,” said Ciseralla-Lemieux.
After the stencil work is done, the caboose will receive a clear coat that will help prevent graffiti.
Sicamous CIB chair Deb Heap told the News the caboose’s appearance had been a concern, and when she asked CP about restoring it they weren’t willing to help, but estimated the work would cost about $40,000. From there, Heap said she came up with a Plan B and brought it forward to district council.
At the June 9 council meeting, Heap said she supported the work of the restoration committee, and asked Ciseralla-Lemieux to be a local delegate when the CIB judges came to town.
Ciseralla-Lemieux said she met with the CIB judges who were impressed with the caboose, and its colour, and asked plenty of questions about it and the community effort that went into its restoration.
“They were pretty impressed the community got involved and asked if we have any plans to do anything further with it,” said Ciseralla-Lemieux, adding there are. In addition to installing a plaque recognizing the caboose’s historical use and all who have contributed to its restoration, Ciseralla-Lemieux said there are also plans to do some work with its interior.
“We looked inside and it’s in really good shape, and we’re going to do some fundraising to restore the inside,” said Ciseralla-Lemieux, who sees the caboose being used by the chamber and the Sicamous & District Visitor Centre during the summer, and also as a place where local school students can learn about railway safety.
Overall, Ciseralla-Lemieux said she and fellow caboose restoration committee members are very happy with how quickly the project came together.
“We get compliments constantly; it’s people stopping in or saying, so glad you guys stepped up to the plate and did that. I’m so glad we did go ahead with it,” said Ciseralla-Lemieux, adding the committee may be partnering with Revelstoke on some restoration work for the caboose at The Last Spike in Craigellachie.
lachlan@saobserver.net
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