![]() As a whole, the colors offered on Freewheelers jackets are my favorite of any leather jacket range with this particular jacket being a great example of why I hold this opinion. There are areas of quite intense grain and other areas of slightly smoother leather and I enjoy the variation. This specific color is called dead leaf brown and to me it is a slightly darker and more rich, red color than the standard mid brown that I have on my two Himel jackets. With Freewheelers using their own finishing and coloring on the hides, it allows them to have some truly beautiful colors that are not found on other hides from the Shinki tannery. It is vegetable tanned horsehide that is tanned by Shinki and then finished by Freewheelers themselves. To start, the leather is absolutely stunning. The details here take the basic design and elevate it to the highest of leather jacket heights. After a quick glance, however, it becomes quite clear that this is no ordinary half belt jacket. It is a half belt sports jacket, probably the most common and straightforward leather jacket design out there in the heritage menswear world while cross zips are more common in the fast fashion world. On the surface, this appears to be about as basic of a jacket as they come. I received this jacket all the way back in early summer of this year and have been wearing it more than any other jacket recently, so I feel comfortable giving a full review of it at this point. What better way to celebrate this than by reviewing a leather jacket? Today, we will be looking at my Caboose jacket in dead leaf brown Shinki vegetable tanned horsehide from Freewheelers. Members of the Railway Association are currently restoring both the caboose and the Rutland Depot that is their home.We are now well into winter and that means that it is jacket weather, my absolute favorite time of the year. VTR #45 was retired from use in the mid 1970s, and moved to Center Rutland by the the early 1990s. With the end of the Rutland Railroad in the mid 1960s, Rutland #45 become Vermont Railway’s #45 when the state of Vermont bought the former Rutland’s assets. Like Steamtown’s #28, it ran on the Ogdensburg sub-division of the Rutland lines. Originally numbered #95, it was renumbered a few months later along with the rest of the 90 series. Most interesting to me were the beautiful cast-iron seats up in the cupola which allowed would have allowed for a great view for the train crew. While it’s a bit run down (it *is* almost 100 years old), it was quite a treat to see the original floor, paint, and layout. Though the caboose is off-limits to the public, in the summer of 2016, a couple of the Association’s members allowed me a look inside the unrestored caboose. This caboose actually lives just a few miles from where I live, so I’ve photographed it a few times over the years, including a couple of days ago to show its current state. The Depot is home of the Rutland Railway Association, who have both a museum and model railroad club on site. ![]() ![]() ![]() The second caboose is Rutland #45, currently on display outside of the Center Rutland Depot just outside of Rutland, Vermont. The caboose was on display inside of one of Steamtown’s buildings, which made getting exterior shots difficult, but did provide for a look at the roof line. The restoration of #28 took place in 1995. Nelson Blount for display at the original Steamtown site in Vermont. It ended it’s working life as a bunkhouse in Bellows Falls, Vermont before being donated in 1961 to F. The caboose was assigned to the lines between Rutland, Vermont and Ogdensburg, New York. Built to the New York Central design, the caboose features a cupola that is offset to one end of the van, with a comfortable interior for the crew. According to the National Park System’s documentation, caboose #28 was built in 1920 by the Rutland car shops. Currently on display at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania, #28 is a fully restored piece, varnished in Cherry Red, that I was able to visit while traveling to BrickFair in Virginia back in 2009. With the release of the Brick Model Railroader Northeastern Style Caboose, I thought I’d give a short photo tour of a couple of vintage vans that plied their trade in the the northeastern states of Vermont and New York along the old Rutland Railroad.įirst up is Rutland Caboose #28. ![]()
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