McChooChoo sold, will move to Silver Valley

The McChooChoo, Spokane’s landmark McDonald’s party room that went up on the eBay auction block, has been sold for $11,301.95 and will be chugging out of its station.

Next stop: Silver Valley.

Toni Weatherwax, a bookkeeper in the corporate office of the franchisee that owns 24 area McDonald’s Restaurants, said the anonymous buyer is planning to restore the 60,000-pound train car, which was originally built for the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad.

The buyer already owns one caboose and purchased another on eBay from Texas around the same time he bought the McChooChoo.

The plan is to get four of them and open a resort of rental cabins in Kellogg, Idaho.

“He said I can stay there whenever I want,” said Weatherwax, who coordinated the sale.

Weatherwax noted that many local folks stopped by to check out the caboose while it was on the auction block.

She was surprised at the enthusiasm of potential buyers.

“People are just crazy about cabooses,” she said.

The caboose was built in 1910 or 1911 for the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad.

The railroad was later purchased by Great Northern, which later became part of Burlington Northern.

The train car was retired in 1977 and moved to its present location at the McDonald’s on North Market Street.

The McChooChoo became the party room when the restaurant opened in 1978, hosting thousands of birthday parties and happy children.

The McChooChoo caboose has been sitting empty for the past four years.