Nashville Chattanooga & St. Louis 41

The Story of Caboose 41: The Last Surviving NC&StL NE-3 Class Car

Caboose 41 is one of the most unique and historically significant pieces in the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s collection. Built in 1927 by Mount Vernon Car Works for the Florida East Coast Railroad, it was originally part of a series of cabooses designed for freight service.

In 1935, the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway acquired the car and reclassified it as part of its NE-3 class, assigning it the number it carries today. Soon after, between 1935 and 1936, Caboose 41 underwent a rare transformation—one of just nine cars modified for branchline passenger service.

To support this new role, the interior was completely redesigned. Traditional crew accommodations, including bunks and workspaces, were replaced with seating for up to 16 passengers. This allowed the car to operate on the Cowan to Tracy City route, offering a practical and innovative solution for passenger service on smaller lines.

In 1964, the Louisville & Nashville Railroad donated Caboose 41 to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum, where it remains preserved in its NC&StL appearance. Today, it stands as the last surviving example of the NE-3 class, as the remaining cars were scrapped in 1968—making Caboose 41 a truly one-of-a-kind piece of Southern railroad history.