Work is continuing on a caboose that will be the centerpiece of the Mayo River Trail.
The caboose is a Town of Stuart project and was purchased by the town, according to Stuart Mayor Ray Weiland.
The Patrick County Tourism Advisory Council (TAC) voted unanimously Sept. 22, 2016 to contribute $11,000 toward the purchase and rehabilitation of a historic caboose to be placed along the Mayo River Rail Trail in downtown Stuart.
The cost of the purchase, transportation and rehabilitation of the caboose was estimated at $32,000.
Town officials had proposed a 60/40 match, with TAC’s portion set at $21,000. TAC voted to approve funding of $11,000 and waive the town’s previously committed $10,000 contribution to the Mayo River Rail Trail.
The Town currently is refurbishing the caboose, and paid a sandblaster from outside the county to sandblast the caboose, according to Weiland, who added a local sandblaster could not be located.
Jerry Wilson is providing the labor by a donation via Five Star Mountain Realty for painting each section of the caboose as it is sandblasted so that the bare metal would not flash rust.
The cost of the paint and materials will be donated by other businesses in the area. Those businesses, as well as other partners in the business community, will be named at a later date.
The trail is designed to follow the route of the old tracks of the Danville and Western Railroad, nicknamed “the Dick and Willie.”
