A railcar that once hauled freight through Oklahoma now sits permanently parked on a set of new tracks in the wooded hills of Mercer County, Pennsylvania, serving coffee instead of cargo. Cobblehaus Brewery, located just off Route 19, has converted the vintage caboose into a self-service coffee and pastry stop called the Caboose Cafe, with a grand opening and ribbon-cutting set for Saturday at 3 p.m.
From Oklahoma Rails to Pennsylvania Trails
The railcar is officially known as Caboose 801, and according to property owner Chuck Gerbe, it began its working life on the Saint Louis-San Francisco line before operating in the Oklahoma City area until the late 1960s or early 1970s, as reported by WKBN. After its retirement from active service, the caboose passed through a train museum, then an amusement park, before landing in private ownership — a chain of custody that eventually brought it to Gerbe, who bought it and had it trucked from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania last winter, per the same report.
Once it arrived, Gerbe had the caboose permanently placed on new tracks at the Cobblehaus property, where it was transformed into the Caboose Cafe. The interior now features railroad photographs and memorabilia alongside the espresso machine, and Gerbe told WKBN the concept started small. “It began as a coffee bar and grew to include snacks, pastries, coffee and other items,” he said, per the station's reporting. The cafe is designed to welcome visitors before the brewery itself opens, giving early arrivals somewhere to land.
A Property Built on Layers of History
The caboose's new home sits on a seven-acre property with a history stretching back nearly 250 years, according to Breweries in PA. The property was developed into an industrial site in the 1830s, the outlet reports. That industrial chapter included an iron furnace, according to the same account.
An 1840 house also stands on the property; in 2022, it was slated for renovation as a short-term rental.
A Jewelry Store Turned Taproom With a Waterfall View
The main taproom building has its own unlikely backstory. It was originally constructed in 2009 as a jewelry store before Cobblehaus transformed it into a craft taproom with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall facing Springfield Falls, according to the Business Journal Daily. Cobblehaus's original location is in Coraopolis; it expanded into Mercer County with a $1.2 million investment in October 2022, the publication reported at the time.
A Community Gathering Spot
The property has also become a venue for local nonprofit work. Earlier this month, Cobblehaus at the Falls hosted POP'toberfest, an inaugural fundraiser held in partnership with the Mercer County nonprofit Prince of Peace Center that brought in local food trucks and live music. In 2022, Cobblehaus planned to sell takeout growlers, crowlers, and four-packs and operate without a kitchen.
The ribbon-cutting is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. at Cobblehaus at the Falls, 1015 Leesburg Station Road in Mercer.
