Historic caboose sold
The caboose at Cellar Works Brewing, formerly Cooper Station Restaurant, is on track for a new home at the Butler-Freeport Community Trail.
Chris Ziegler, president of the trail board, said the World War II-era caboose will be moved from its longtime home on South Pike Road to the Cabot Trailhead off Winfield Road about four miles away.
She said the caboose will be placed beside a 16-by-32-foot pavilion recently added at the trailhead.
Ziegler has visions for the caboose that include a visitors center and a stop along the trail where cyclists, walkers and runners can get a soft drink and ice cream, although the final use for the caboose has yet to be determined.
“It's a rail trail and it makes sense because it's a historic community asset,” Ziegler said of the trail buying the caboose.
When Ziegler heard the owners of Cellar Works in Winfield Township did not plan to use a railroad theme in their brewery, she began wondering if the trail could acquire the caboose.
“We've had our eye on that caboose for a long time,” Ziegler said, “so we approached them and asked them if we could purchase it.”
Tim Bauer, who co-owns Cellar Works with John Lasher, said when they originally bought Cooper Station in 2015, they planned to somehow incorporate the caboose into their branding.
But the deeper the pair got into the direction they would ultimately take at the brewery and restaurant, the more they realized the caboose did not fit their business model.
Bauer was happy to sell the caboose to the trail board, as he has run the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon a number of times and is interested in supporting the trail.
“I've always appreciated everything Chris has done for the trail,” Bauer said. “It's exciting to think she has a use for the caboose.”
Bauer admitted he and Lasher have had other offers for the caboose from railroad enthusiasts willing to pay more.
“It was important to us that it stay in the community versus trying to make more money off it,” Bauer said. “There's some things you can't put a price on.”
He said his business goal is not to break the bank, but to provide a place where neighbors and friends can gather to enjoy each other's company.
“When I grew up, that's the way things were,” Bauer said. “All this corporate stuff will fade away, but having a good community connection will remain.”Jack Cohen, president of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, is hoping the caboose ends up as a visitors center. He also appreciates the dedication of Cellar Works Brewing to the community in southeastern Butler County.“It will obviously attract people to come and get information on businesses near the trail and bring opportunities for those businesses,” Cohen said. “We think it's a cool idea and we're glad (Bauer and Lasher) think like that.”Lora Cooper Rothen, owner of Du-Co Ceramics in Saxonburg and daughter of the late Saxonburg Mayor Reldon Cooper, said her father brought the historic caboose in from out of state when he built Cooper Station in 1994.The formerly blue caboose needed a facelift and was fixed up and painted red to match Cooper Station Restaurant, Rothen recalled.Having been a great supporter of Rails-to-Trails in their effort to make the former railway a community trail in the 1980s, Rothen is excited about the new use for the caboose.“I think that's wonderful and I hope the people enjoy it,” she said.Ziegler hasn't yet decided exactly when the caboose will be moved.
