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The 1927 Norfolk & Western caboose that has been donated to the town of Windsor caught on fire Monday morning, April 14, in the yard at Repair Tech Industrial Contractors’ facility near Franklin, sustaining damage to its interior.

Windsor Mayor George Stubbs explained Friday morning, April 18, that the information town officials had on the incident was limited at that time. A meeting scheduled to take place at Repair Tech on Thursday, April 17, had to be postponed due to a medical emergency within the family of the person with whom town officials were set to meet.

Windsor Town Manager William Saunders was able to confirm the day and time of the fire, and he noted that area fire departments extinguished it.

Stubbs indicated that town officials hoped to meet at Repair Tech sometime during the week of April 20-26 to learn more details pertaining to the fire and the full extent of the damage done to the caboose.

“At the same time, once we get that information,” he said, “we’re going to have to talk to (the Windsor Town) Council and see what council’s decision is, how they want to move forward.”

The council had voted in March to cap spending on the external renovations of the caboose at $45,000.

Stubbs emphasized Friday morning that he had not been over to Repair Tech yet to view the fire-damaged traincar in person, but based on photos he had seen, he said, “I think the structural interior of it is completely gone, because that was all wood, But there’s a couple other questions that we’ve got to get some answers on. Has there been any damage to anything else as far as the framing, the siding?”

The council reached a consensus in December to pursue a process aimed at acquiring the caboose with the hope of ultimately putting it on display in Windsor as a tribute to the locality’s history as a train town. The caboose was donated to Windsor by Bishard Homes, the developer of the Suffolk property from which the caboose was moved by Windsor on March 29.

The town paid to move the caboose to Repair Tech for exterior renovations.