Looking For Caboose Southern ? Then This is Where You Want to Be
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 Lionel 26569 Southern Caboose 2002 $39.95 Time Remaining: 1h 55m Buy It Now for only: $39.95 |
 American Flyer 48714 Southern Pacific Caboose $39.95 Time Remaining: 1h 55m Buy It Now for only: $39.95 |
 Lionel 16586 Southern Pacific Caboose 1997 $39.95 Time Remaining: 1h 55m Buy It Now for only: $39.95 |
 LIONEL X9066 SOUTHERN CABOOSE SHELL ONLY RED MPC 2357 3A 3 1 FREE SHIPPING $6.00 Time Remaining: 2h 41m Buy It Now for only: $6.00 |
 35mm original slide SR Southern Railway FP7 bay Window Caboose freight train 71 $0.99 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 5h 24m |
 35mm original slide SR Sou Southern FP7 bay window caboose freight train 1971 NC $0.99 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 5h 26m |
 Walthers Bay Window Caboose Norfolk Southern $10.00 Time Remaining: 5h 50m |
 Bachmann N Scale 36 Caboose Southern Pacific item 5410 $9.99 Time Remaining: 8h 26m Buy It Now for only: $9.99 |
 Lionel 6 26590 Southern Illuminated Square Window Caboose $39.49 Time Remaining: 8h 48m Buy It Now for only: $39.49 |
 SOUTHERN RAILWAY SR CA 4 CABOOSE X563 Heritage L 27638 $94.95 Time Remaining: 9h 13m Buy It Now for only: $94.95 |
 Athearn Ready To Run 74668 Southern Pacific Bay Window Police Caboose 4726 $7.00 Time Remaining: 10h 5m |
 Athearn Ready To Run 74669 Southern Pacific Bay Window Police Caboose 4762 $7.00 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 10h 6m |
 + RARE MTH PREMIER PROTOTYPE SOUTHERN PACIFIC EXTENDED VISION CABOOSE 20 91077 $42.00 (3 Bids) Time Remaining: 10h 23m |
 DTD N RED CABOOSE 3 PACK RN 17624 SP SOUTHERN PACIFIC COIL CAR SET FREIGHT $20.50 (3 Bids) Time Remaining: 10h 30m |
 + RARE MTH PREMIER PROTOTYPE NORFOLK SOUTHERN VISION CABOOSE 20 91062 $39.99 Time Remaining: 10h 41m |
 DTD N SCALE RED CABOOSE RN 17623 3 SP 595356 SOUTHERN PACIFIC COIL CAR FREIGHT $9.95 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 10h 48m |
 DTD N SCALE RED CABOOSE RN 17623 7 SP 595350 SOUTHERN PACIFIC COIL CAR FREIGHT $9.95 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 10h 54m |
 DTD N SCALE RED CABOOSE RN 17623 1 SP 595351 SOUTHERN PACIFIC COIL CAR FREIGHT $9.95 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 11h |
 HO 187 Built Athearn Bay Window Caboose SOUTHERN X205 with Markers Details $18.50 (10 Bids) Time Remaining: 11h 6m |
 Athearn Genesis HO 63008 Southern Pacific C 50 7 Caboose with Light $84.98 Time Remaining: 20h 21m Buy It Now for only: $84.98 |
 ORIGINAL KODACHOME KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN CABOOSE 395 AUG 87 $3.00 Time Remaining: 20h 56m |
 Ho model train Lionel Caboose 98604 SOUTHERN PACIFIC $6.84 Time Remaining: 21h 36m Buy It Now for only: $18.99 |
 SOUTHERN PACIFIC CABOOSE HO SCALE DECAL HC 202 $4.50 Time Remaining: 22h 56m |
 Southern Pacific Bay Window Caboose 1039 Solid Wood HO Scale by Roundhouse $14.99 Time Remaining: 23h 15m Buy It Now for only: $14.99 |
 High Speed Southern Pacific Caboose 1064 $2.99 Time Remaining: 23h 25m |
 Rio Grande Southern RR Caboose slide $4.49 Time Remaining: 1d 1h 27m Buy It Now for only: $4.99 |
 Red Caboose n scale steel coil car Southern Pacific $22.50 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 1d 1h 36m |
 DORCHESTERSC SOUTHERN TRANSFER CABOOSE XC 5 AV898a $1.49 Time Remaining: 1d 3h 16m Buy It Now for only: $1.49 |
 MB Marklin HO 4563 Caboose Southern Pacific $65.00 Time Remaining: 1d 3h 44m |
 SOUTHERN PACIFIC CABOOSE GOIN IN CIRCLES TRAIN POSTCARD RAILROAD TEHACHAPI LOOP $2.93 Time Remaining: 1d 3h 58m |
 Red Caboose N scale Auto Rack Southern Pacific SP Trailer Train autorack NEW $19.99 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 1d 4h 12m |
 Rail King 30 70021 Southern Steel Caboose $15.99 Time Remaining: 1d 4h 14m |
 Red Caboose N scale Auto Rack Southern Pacific SP Speed Lettering autorack NEW $21.50 (3 Bids) Time Remaining: 1d 4h 15m |
 Rail King 30 70021 Southern Steel Caboose $15.99 Time Remaining: 1d 4h 18m Buy It Now for only: $25.99 |
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 LIONEL TRAINS 6431 FARR SOUTHERN BAY WINDOW CABOOSE $54.95 Time Remaining: 1d 5h 5m Buy It Now for only: $54.95 |
 MT 130 00 011 Southern Pacific Bay Window Caboose $27.95 Time Remaining: 1d 5h 23m |
 MT 130 00 070 Southern Pacific Railroad Police Bay Window Caboose $21.95 Time Remaining: 1d 5h 24m |
 Vintage O Scale MARX Southern Pacific Red CABOOSE $4.99 Time Remaining: 1d 5h 30m |
 HO Scale 3 Window Standard Wood Caboose Southern Pacific 783 Roundhouse $24.98 Time Remaining: 1d 5h 43m Buy It Now for only: $24.98 |
 Kadee 50070 34 woodsided Caboose Southern Pacific w Kadee couplers $8.00 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 1d 6h 59m |
 Athearn CUSTOM Norfolk Southern Red BW Caboose Nice $32.99 Time Remaining: 1d 7h 27m |
 LIONEL 9259 SOUTHERN BAY WINDOW CABOOSE NIB $19.99 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 1d 7h 32m |
 Lionel 9012 TAG Hopper027 Green Southern Pacific 027 Caboose Lot $9.99 Time Remaining: 1d 9h 17m Buy It Now for only: $16.99 |
 Great Condition LIONEL Southern Caboose 6 26569 $30.00 Time Remaining: 1d 9h 40m Buy It Now for only: $35.00 |
 Model Power HO Rolling Stock 36 Bay Window Caboose Southern Pacific $3.99 Time Remaining: 1d 10h 46m |
 HO SCALE SOUTHERN PACIFIC SP WIDEVIEW WV CABOOSE TRAIN CAR 25743 by BACHMANN NR $0.99 Time Remaining: 1d 10h 47m |
 MTH 30 7711 NORFOLK SOUTHERN BAY WINDOW CABOOSE 63297 NEW $29.99 Time Remaining: 1d 12h 13m |
 LIONEL SOUTHERN 404 TRAIN CABOOSE VINTAGE $10.00 Time Remaining: 1d 12h 20m |
 Athearn 23210 N scale RTR Bay Window C 50 9 Caboose SP 4730 Southern Pacific $29.95 Time Remaining: 1d 12h 30m |
 Lionel Trains Southern Caboose 6 9287 $30.00 Time Remaining: 1d 12h 40m Buy It Now for only: $30.00 |
 Southern Pacific High Speed Metal Model Train Set Locomotive Caboose 8 units $13.99 Time Remaining: 1d 13h 21m |
 VINTAGE MARX TRAIN O SCALE GUAGE SOUTHERN PACIFIC RED CABOOSE RAILROAD CAR RARE $4.99 Time Remaining: 1d 13h 33m |
 Micro Trains 050 00 220 SP TNO Southern Pacific wood caboose Rd 383 $22.49 Time Remaining: 1d 14h 32m Buy It Now for only: $24.99 |
 SOUTHERN PACIFIC FRUIT EXPRESS R 70 15 REFRIGERATOR CAR BY RED CABOOSE $33.89 Time Remaining: 1d 15h 11m Buy It Now for only: $33.89 |
 Red Caboose RR 35001 Southern Pacific Steel Sides $27.95 Time Remaining: 1d 21h 16m Buy It Now for only: $30.95 |
 RARE FIND Southern Pacific 6000 Engine Dummy Engine Caboose Works Great $24.99 Time Remaining: 2d 7m Buy It Now for only: $49.99 |
 K LINE 22671 SOUTHERN BAY WINDOW SMOKING CABOOSE $49.95 Time Remaining: 2d 33m |
 O Gauge Southern Railway Bay Window Caboose by K Line K612 2011 $24.99 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 2d 3h 54m |
 Athearn Brown Southern Pacific 1060 Caboose Kit 1251 HO Scale New original box $3.25 (3 Bids) Time Remaining: 2d 4h 8m |
 LIONEL TRAINS 8302 SOUTHERN LOCO TENDER X9066 CABOOSE O SCALE MODEL $19.95 Time Remaining: 2d 5h 49m |
 HO SOUTHERN PACIFIC Athearn Bay Window Caboose 1776 RTR NIB $8.27 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 2d 6h 5m |
 AMERICAN FLYER NO 48714 SOUTHERN PACIFIC CABOOSE VERY NICE $42.95 Time Remaining: 2d 6h 46m Buy It Now for only: $42.95 |
 LIONEL 28351 KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN ES44AC DIESEL W 27661 KCS EV CABOOSE $795.00 Time Remaining: 2d 9h 1m |
 American Flyer 6 48728 Southern Bay Window Caboose $42.99 Time Remaining: 2d 9h 41m Buy It Now for only: $42.99 |
 NORFOLK SOUTHERN CABOOSE METAL WHEELS NIB WALTERS TRAINLINE HO $14.95 Time Remaining: 2d 10h 24m Buy It Now for only: $14.95 |
 DTD N SCALE RED CABOOSE RN 17623 5 SP 595361 SOUTHERN PACIFIC COIL CAR FREIGHT $9.95 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 2d 10h 39m |
 DTD N SCALE RED CABOOSE RN 17623 4 SP 595359 SOUTHERN PACIFIC COIL CAR FREIGHT $9.95 (1 Bid) Time Remaining: 2d 10h 45m |
 DTD N SCALE RED CABOOSE RN 17623 9 SP 595355 SOUTHERN PACIFIC COIL CAR FREIGHT $10.45 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 2d 10h 51m |
 Atlas 1007003 2 O Industrial Rail 1007003 2 Norfolk Southern Caboose 555518 $19.95 Time Remaining: 2d 10h 55m Buy It Now for only: $19.95 |
 DTD N SCALE RED CABOOSE RN 17623 12 SP 595362 SOUTHERN PACIFIC COIL CAR FREIGHT $10.45 (2 Bids) Time Remaining: 2d 10h 57m |
 DTD N SCALE RED CABOOSE RN 17607 1 SOU 62897 SOUTHERN COIL CAR FREIGHT $9.95 Time Remaining: 2d 11h 3m |
Fresno visitors enjoy driving the Fruit Trail
When people think of California, they first think of beaches, theme parks and movie stars and often one of the most important aspects of this state is overlooked - the agriculture that provides so many of our basic necessities. With farmlands to rival anything you'll see in the Midwest, California's vast San Joaquin Valley is dotted with small towns that exist mainly to service those who work in the agriculture industry.
For Big City types, it can be enlightening to stop and visit a few of these communities, if only to get a glimpse of a slower, quieter life where the word "commute" is not in the local dictionary. Local residents might as well bike or walk to work in these Main Street shops - although most do drive. Picture-perfect old-growth trees usually provide plenty of shade for the downtown business areas, while stately, historic homes adorn some of the main routes in and out of town. Traffic is just about nil, and people use their local parks to sit on a bench and just think about what all of this means.
In between the towns are the farmlands, neatly marked off in square or rectangular parcels, each devoted to a particular vegetable or crop. Old farmhouses are spaced every half mile or mile - although some of them are quite modern and palatial - and the seemingly endless two-lane roads are usually straight as can be. Not too many SUV's or sports cars out here - about nine out of every 10 vehicles is a pickup truck, some so old they're still living past lives.
For the family traveling through these agricultural lands, there is an opportunity to put things in perspective. City kids who figure that produce just magically appears at the local supermarket will be astonished to see their vegetables coming out of this region's rich soil. For adults, it's a chance to get some of these things fresh and cheap - buying fruit and produce in these parts really is cutting out the middle man.
All of this is played out over the hundreds of miles between Northern and Southern California, but one place where local city fathers have made it a bit easier for visitors is Fresno. While the city itself bustles with traffic and is hardly the "Mayberry" you're looking for, the area south and east of Fresno is made up of several small towns with names like Sanger, Selma, Kingsburg and Orange Cove. Local tourism officials have created what they call the Fresno County Fruit Trail that will take you to three dozen or so farms, shops or unique attractions that will give you a taste, quite literally, of what this region has to offer.
Timing is everything on this trip. We drove the 100-plus miles around the loop just a tad bit before the fruit was ready - worthwhile, but a little disappointing in the number of seasonal markets that were not yet up and running. Visitors taking the loop beginning in early June won't have that problem. Most fruit stands opened in May with peaches and nectarines. Cherries and apricots follow. Traditionally mid-April through July is best for berries, while mid-May through September will find the best of stone fruit - several varieties of peaches, plums, nectarines and apricots. From mid-June through September, visitors can see the famous Fresno raisins drying in the sun.
While we didn't taste much fresh fruit on our drive, we did find some fascinating locations on the Fruit Trail. We began by getting a copy of the Fruit Trail map from the Fresno County Office of Tourism (contact info is below). The map gives a great overall perspective to where things are located, although some of the specific directions were a little hard to follow. We must admit we ultimately cheated -- using our GPS navigation system - but getting a good local map to complement the Fruit Trail map should clear up any confusion.
Most of the Fruit Trail points of interest were seven to 10 miles apart, although there were several clusters with multiple stops near each other. You'll definitely want to stay in Fresno for the night, as this outing will take you the better part of a day to do it right. We can recommend the Courtyard by Marriott - a little getaway unto itself with a large pool and Jacuzzi and spacious, comfortable rooms.
Among the Fruit Trail stops we found most interesting:
Simonian Farms - This is a one-of-a-kind store located just on the outskirts of Fresno and is fascinating to browse through. The first thing you notice outside is the old farm equipment - a 1925 orchard sprayer, a 1936 Massey-Harris tractor, a 1906 steam engine tractor - as well as assorted other items such as a Santa Fe railroad caboose and eight-foot-high windmill (for sale for $98). This is just the picnic area outside the store and, once you approach the store, you see old wood stoves, antique gas pumps, dozens of old gas signs, several wooden birdhouses for sale - $10 a pop - and a huge selection of bells. The produce is inside the store - fruits, dates, nuts, such unusual items as Cajun-spiced home-cured olives and strawberry-coated Thompson raisins. Hanging from the ceilings are several antique bicycles and the store's walls are plastered with old-time photographs. Along a couple of walls are hundreds of dusty historical artifacts such as old typewriters and turn-of-the-century grocery containers. All-and-all, this store is quite a shopping experience.
Circle K Ranch - This store has everything raisin one can imagine. There are chocolate covered raisins, yogurt coated raisins, jumbo raspberry raisins and gift boxes that combine these and other varieties into one package. You'll also find walnuts, peanuts, dried pears, dried pineapples and dried plums.
Seasons - This little shop, located basically at someone's house, is named Seasons because it carries seasonal gifts, such as Christmas ornaments, year-round. As clerk Deborah Sappington pointed out, the owners know all of the shop's suppliers. You'll find many organic vegetable items including a soap made with loofah. Just for good measure, there's a tractor museum and display of antique tools, all right there in the backyard.
California Olive Oil Manufacturing Company - If you're not careful you'll miss the non-descript building and tiny office, but it's well worth stopping here for the award-winning olive oil. The oil has been produced by the Ugaste family for more than 60 years.
Kingsburg - This Mayberry-style town is trying really hard to be a Swedish theme village although about half the buildings along Main Street haven't quite gotten with the program. But no matter. The small-town charm is worth the visit and you'll enjoy browsing through such antique shops as My Sister's Closet and the Apple Dumplin', or dining at Gino's or enjoying a fresh brew at the Cappacino Courtyard. It's only fitting that this small piece of Americana has not one, but two 50's shops - the 50's Shop and the Rockin' 50's Shop, both stocked full of 50's memorabilia. Be sure and check out City Hall, a historic pillared building that looks like it was created for a Smalltown USA movie set.
AT A GLANCE
WHERE: Fresno is located in the San Juaquin Valley, between Bakersfield and Sacramento and easily reached by the 99 freeway. The Fruit Trail is just southeast of Fresno.
WHAT: Fresno is located in one of the state's top-producing agricultural areas and the relatively large city of Fresno serves as a gateway to a region of small towns, villages, farms and orchards.
WHEN: In general, the Fruit Trail is best to travel in the late spring and summer months, although you are at the mercy of Mother Nature for any given crop. Farming, obviously, is seasonal but even in the off-season there are many year-round highlights on this tour.
WHY: Anyone who loves the taste and smell of fresh fruit and vegetables will enjoy the tour, not to mention those who find it interesting to visit historic buildings, small towns and shop for unusual products and artifacts.
HOW: The Freno County Office of Tourism is glad to supply a Fruit Trail map if you call them at 559-262-4271.
About the Author
Cary Ordway is a syndicated travel writer and president of Getaway Media Corp, which publishes websites focused on regional getaway travel. Among the sites currently offered by GMC are http://www.californiaweekend.com, covering California spa vacations and other Golden State destinations, and http://www.northwesttraveladvisor.com, covering NW beach vacation ideas as well as other Pacific Northwest travel destinations.