Anyway, I didn't want to clutter up his thread so I'm starting this one.
Thanks for the welcome, Bob. I'm really excited about the Semaphore, and want to definitely keep it as original as possible on the outside. I haven't decided anything about the interior yet. The first challenge will be getting it home. I was up there yesterday looking at it, it's much worse than I thought. The previous owner had put "new" used tires on it when I bought it since it still had the original rubber from 1974 under it.2 of the tires are low on air. One axle dust cover is missing so it's not going anywhere without new bearings. I'm trying to find someone who will drive out there and do it. The tongue jack is frozen and needs to be replaced. There are NO safety chains on it, and I can't see where any were ever attached. The running lights don't work. (Figured they wouldn't since the connector is rotted and the wires are crackly brittle.) May be able to borrow a remote set of towing lights to get it home. No clue if the brakes work, I'm guessing they're frozen like everything else, so they will need to be replaced as well. Bathroom window is slightly open and won't crank shut, duct tape should "fix" that for the trip. I got most of the loose siding screwed back on, although in lots of places the wood frame at the base is completely rotted away so there wasn't anything to screw into. According to the email I have from a guy who worked at the factory there is a steel and aluminum frame so hopefully the whole thing doesn't fly apart on the road.
Can't find a serial or VIN number on it anywhere, even took the wire brush to the tongue in the hopes it was buried under the paint but no joy. I've got the bill of sale, and the plates off my other camper that's now consigned at the local RV dealership. If the lights are working and nothing flies off I should be able to sneak home with it that way, and worry about getting a title and valid plates later on.
I'm about an hour southeast of Nashville, the Semaphore is 3 hours north of here at Kentucky Lake. Just talked to a fellow who may be able to get a one-ton truck and a construction trailer that we could winch the caboose onto and haul it home. Here's a couple pics of the exterior taken a month ago when i first bought it.
No tags anywhere inside or outside the caboose, just a bill of sale from the previous owner (he got a bill of sale when he bought it as well, same with the guy HE bought it from), and no idea if it was ever titled or in what state. Today after using the gallons of WD-40 all over everything on the tongue jack I found a faint number that is right next to where the base plate of the tongue jack was, it was buried under the corrosion and several layers of paint, so I'll take the cordless drill and wire wheel up and see if I can't get it cleaned up enough to read the whole thing. Fingers are crossed, I'd really like to have it titled as a Semaphore Caboose and not as a home-built if at all possible.