Restoring Glory: Nichols completes Eagle Scout project

The Erie Railroad caboose on display in downtown Winamac, has been repainted to its original 1953 paint scheme. Carrie Nichols, a Pulaski County resident and scout in BSA Troop 220 of Rochester, completed the repainting of the caboose as her Eagle Scout project on Oct. 10. The goal of the project was to beautify the caboose to draw more people to the downtown area of Winamac and to extend the life of the caboose. The project was approved by the Town of Winamac at the July council meeting. Work began on the project in August, with two organized work weekends and help from scouts and leaders from Troop 220 Rochester, Troop 229 Winamac and Troop 9929 Chesterton. The project required over 350 man hours to sand, prime and repaint the caboose. A 1953 photo and an original Erie Railroad lettering diagram were used to create stencils to reproduce the original lettering and graphics. The project was funded by a generous donation from Main Street Winamac and other private donations. Sherwin Williams in Logansport discounted the paint for the project. Carrie hopes to complete the rest of the requirements to earn the Eagle Scout rank before her 18th birthday in December.