XENIA — The Caboose at Xenia Station sustained thousands of dollars of damage after it was recently vandalized with graffiti.
One side the the train car, owned by the Greene County Historical Society, was spray painted with an artsy form of the number 32. The repair estimate has not been complete, but according to Ronald Goble, current president of the historical society, it cost around $5,000 a decade ago. Due to inflation and the need for a fence to be installed during the work, the cost will be considerably higher to restore the outside.
Goble said social media helped identify the local gang allegedly responsible but the security cameras installed at the station did not record anything so an arrest is unlikely. The cameras were installed last year after four windows were broken out at the station.
The caboose is typically kept secure and if kids are around, it will be opened so they can go inside and explore, according to Goble.
“I don’t know what else we can do to prevent this,” he said in an email. “This is funded through donations and volunteers. For the broken windows last spring we got enough donations from a local foundation to partially fund installing Lexan over all the windows. That was over $3,000 total. (16 windows in it). Now this. Our funds are depleted.”
Built in 1837,the caboose is a big local attraction with more than 1,500 visitors last year, Goble said.
