Yellow Caboose Ready to Depart Downtown Toccoa

Downtown Toccoa’s iconic train caboose is about ready to depart.

Yesterday, work began to remove the yellow train car from its moorings in the parking lot at the corner of North Sage and East Tugaloo streets. As the caboose was loaded onto a flatbed truck yesterday afternoon, several residents paused to comment on the landmark’s long history in the community. 

The caboose was brought to Toccoa by the VanderWoude family after they purchased the adjacent building at the corner of North Sage and Doyle Street from the City of Toccoa in 2004 to open the Whistle Stop Antique mall as the sister location to their first store, the Whistle Stop Depot in Franklin, NC. 

As the city prepares for construction to begin on the Tugalo Street Greenspace, The VanderWoude family is moving the caboose to a private residence to protect the historic train car, and to open up parking spots for the greenspace, according to city officials. 

As previously reported by WNEG News, The City of Toccoa received a Rural Downtown Redevelopment Grant in July of 2022 from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for the construction of a greenspace. 

Then-city manager Billy Morse told WNEG News that the greenspace was planned for the existing Tugalo Street Parking area.

He said, “This is a special opportunity, this is a one-time opportunity that the Georgia Department of Community Affairs is offering for a Downtown Redevelopment Grant. The good news is that the state is going to match our 10 percent with their 90 percent, so all we have to do is come up with 10 percent for our project. What we are proposing with this grant is to create a green space, stage, and restroom facilities in the existing Tugalo Street public parking area, along with complimentary streetscape improvement in the parking lot on the opposite side of this property near the railroad on that side of that parking lot.”

The city is currently accepting bids from qualified general contractors for the “Construction of a new City Park by modifying and partially replacing the existing parking lot at East Tugalo Street (GA Hwy 184), between North Pond Street and North Sage Street, and Rice-Lewis-Gilliard Way,” which is the south alley of the parking lot. 

Bids are due by noon on Friday, November 3. The details of the Tugalo Street Greenspace Project are available in the project manual.