• Wooded river with church along banks

    Maine Acadian Culture

    Maine

B & A Caboose and Green Water Tank

B&A Caboose and water tank

B&A caboose and water tank

NPS/Anne Warner

Mid-June through August: Wednesday to Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m., or by appointment
(207-543-7301 or 207-543-7309)

Frenchville Historical Society
Frenchville, Maine 04745

B&A Caboose
The Frenchville Historical Society caboose was built by the Pullman Company in December of 1943 as a troop sleeper car. In 1949, the Bangor & Aroostook Railroad refitted the car as a caboose, and it remained in service until February 1981. The historical society obtained the out‑of‑service caboose as a donation from the B&A Railroad in 1988. In 1994, the caboose and water tank were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historical society has a selection of books and antiques on display in the caboose.

Green Water Tank
Built in 1910 of redwood, the green water tank has long been alocal point of reference. In its early days of use, steam poweredtrains would stop at the tank to replenish their water supply. By 1958the diesel locomotive had replaced steam, rendering the tank obsolete.The town of Frenchville purchased the tank from the B&A Railroadand used it as a water reservoir for the fire department. It is one ofa few surviving train water tanks in the United States.

Accompanying the tank and caboose is a station that was in operation from 1921 to 1970 and is currently privately owned.

 

Did You Know?

Potato Barn in New Canada, Maine

The log blockhouse in Fort Kent, Maine, was built for the "Bloodless" Aroostook War that included a brief period of armed conflict followed by several years of diplomatic disputes and negotiation between Great Britain and the United States. Today the fort is a state-owned national historic landmark.