Quincy, the lonesome caboose

Quincy was a little silver caboose with red stripes.

All of Quincy's caboose friends had important jobs going far away with their long trains.

His friends always talked about the places they visited.

Chico was Quincy's best friend. He was red with an Indian picture painted on his side.

Chico told Quincy about big railroad bridges over deep, deep canyons.

"Why can't I roll over big bridges," said Quincy every night as he went to sleep behind the roundhouse.

Chessie was a yellow caboose with blue letters and a picture of a kitten on his side.

Chessie told Quincy about noisy, smoky factories where monstrous fires made smooth, shiny steel.

"Why can't I go to steel factories," said Quincy, as his short train stopped at each side track.

Connie was painted all black and had a train of gleaming new automobiles.

Connie told Quincy about cities with great buildings called skyscrapers so tall their tops disappeared in the clouds.

"Why can't I go to the cities," said Quincy, as his train went back to the sorting yard.

Quincy's friend Burl was painted green with fancy yellow ends.

Burl told Quincy about big ships sailing away across oceans wider than he could see, filled with great leaping whales.

"Why can't I go to the cities," said Quincy, when he heard such stories from his caboose friends.

Most of all, Quincy admired Aurora, who was blue with yellow letters.

Aurora told Quincy about high mountains covered with tall, green forests and sparkling waterfalls.

"Why can't I go to the mountains," said Quincy.

All his friends carried bright red lanterns as they rolled bravely through the darkness.

Quincy had no lanterns at all, because he always came home before the sun went down.

"Why can't I carry alantern," said Quincy as he waited for his engine.

He was heard by waiting for a signal to turn green. He told Quincy,

"You have the most important job on the railroad," said a golden caboose on the next track.

"I do not," said Quincy.

"Why do you think your friends get to go to those faraway places?" asked the golden caboose.

"I don't know," said Quincy.

"Because of you, Quincy," said the caboose.

"Every refrigerator car is loaded at a different farm.

"Every boxcar comes from a different factory."

"You take those cars to the sorting yard.

"Then each car is put into the right kind of train for your friends."

"Now I understand," said Quincy.

"Without me, there wouldn't be any long trains to take my friends to those marvelous places."

"Your friends tell you what they saw faraway," said the golden caboose.

"I can't go to those places, so my friends tell me what they see," said Quincy.

As Quincy rolled along to the next side track, he hummed a happy song.

"Clickety-clack, down the track. Clickety-clack, bring them back."

Copyright © 1998-2005. Michael Quin Heavener. All Rights Reserved.