WAUNAKEE — It's not the end of the line for this village's aging yellow caboose; in fact it's off to a new beginning.

Earlier this week the caboose, C-176, was lifted onto a flatbed truck and taken to its new home in Plymouth, about 100 miles northeast of here.

While the caboose looks dilapidated, the Plymouth Historical Society, which bought it for $1,000, sees potential in the worn yellow box.

"Structurally the caboose is very sound," said Jim Stahlman, president of the Plymouth Historical Society. "It has the original hardware. Underneath, the structure is very sound."

Waunakee has owned the caboose since it was donated to the village by Bud Zander, a Waunakee businessman and community leader, about 28 years ago. It has been in Reeve Park ever since.

It was renovated by a group of railroad enthusiasts more than 10 years ago but has since fallen into disrepair, in part because there was no real way to keep it secure from vandals.

The village couldn't put up a fence because it sat on the edge of the Wisconsin Southern railroad right-of-way, said Sue McDade, the village's community services director.

After spending about a year trying to decide what to do with the caboose, the Waunakee Parks Committee and Village Board in June approved finding it a new home.

McDade said once word got around she got calls from California, Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin from people who wanted to buy the caboose. But "this group from Plymouth really just stood out" because, as a historical society, it could ensure the renovated caboose was available for public view, she said.

Jerry Thompson, railroad services coordinator for Plymouth who also serves on the historical society's board, said he was especially excited to learn that the caboose, at 99 years old, has its original wood and hardware. Those include ladders, end-railings and cast-iron brackets where kerosene lanterns used to hang.

Thompson and other volunteers plan to restore the caboose as time and money allows. The historical society expects materials for the renovation to cost about $30,000.

Housed for now in a lumber yard, where it's surrounded by a chain-link fence, the car will eventually be displayed in downtown Plymouth. Despite Waunakee's experience, Stahlman said he didn't expect vandalism to be a problem.

"We have not experienced the broken windows, that type of thing" in other displays and attractions in the city, he said.

When the renovation is complete, Stahlman said, he expected the caboose to fit right in. The area has a rich railroad history — at one time three railroads came into town, each with its own depot.

"We're a historical society that's on the move," Stahlman said, referring to other projects the society has completed. "We see this as a tremendous opportunity for the city."