SALAMANCA, N.Y. — All aboard the newest addition to the Salamanca Rail Museum!

On Dec. 28, the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad caboose completed its trip from Youngstown, Ohio, to Salamanca, rail museum officials said.

Once in Salamanca, it joined two other cars recently purchased from the Mahoning Valley Railroad Heritage Association (MVRHA).

The Erie Railroad Signal Depot car, formerly a World War II troop sleeper, and the P&LW flat car were brought to the rail museum this past spring.

The new caboose will be secured for the winter and work will begin this spring to restore it, officials said.

The rail museum board wishes to thank everyone involved in moving the caboose, especially everyone at MVRHA who helped prepare the caboose for transport and set up the trucking.

The museum is also thankful for all the volunteers who helped in Salamanca laying track, especially those who were there Saturday laying an additional section of track to help the unload process.

The railroad cars were purchased by brothers Chris and Michael Costello. In a previous interview in February 2019, Chris, who serves as secretary on the museum’s board, said he created a 501c3 group called the Erie Business Car Society that now owns the cars and donated them to the museum.

Chris bought two cars and Michael, museum board vice president, bought the other two cars he plans to eventually donate to the museum. All four cars need work and the brothers are restoring the cars themselves.

Chris Costello said Michael bought the flat car and the caboose. Although the origin of the flat car is unknown, they think it might be a Pittsburgh, Lisbon and Western Railroad car.

The plan last February was to move two of the four cars to Salamanca and park them on the track already have in place. More rails and ties have been installed since for the other two.

“The Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad (WNYP) donated the rails and ties, which was amazing of them,” Costello said. “I can’t tell you how much that helped us out.”

In mid-march of last year, the troop sleeper car and flat car arrived at the museum and were unloaded and placed on the tracks in early April.

For more information or to volunteer, contact the rail museum at 716-945-3133.

(Contact managing editor Kellen Quigley at kquigleysp@gmail.com)