BY DARRELL HALEN

An old train caboose will make its last stop in Windham.

The caboose, built in 1932 and once part of the Boston & Maine Railroad, is being sold to the town and will be placed at an old train depot.

The blue C-16 caboose is being purchased for $15,000 from Salem resident William Boddy. It is currently located in Lawrence, Mass., and plans call for it to be moved on June 9.

The fully restored caboose will require only minor work, said Mark Samsel of the town’s Depot Advisory Committee.

Opened in the mid 1800s, the depot was an important part of New Hampshire’s railroad history, and included the town’s post office, a sawmill, and a general and grain store, according to the committee.

The group is working to restore and beautify the area and wants to make the caboose available for public viewing.

“It adds quite a lot to the area,” Town Administrator David Sullivan said of the caboose. “It emphasizes its history. It’s a nice symbol as you enter the complex.”

In preparation for receiving the caboose, volunteers recently built 40 feet of railroad track at the intersection of Depot and Frost roads. The rail lies on 27 ties held by 108 spikes driven by hand, similar to how rail was installed years ago, according to the group.

The location of the rail is close to one of three tracks that intersected the depot.

It will cost $8,000 to move the caboose, and approximately $1,800 has been pledged to date, according to Samsel.

The town had planned to accept a donation of an old caboose from a Pelham resident. But Samsel said the group later learned the old caboose would not be able to handle the move.