Little House on the Prairie
The Runaway Caboose
TV Flash files “The Runaway Caboose” as hour 39 of 200 in the TV Flash guide — Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983) on NBC, season 2, episode 16, aired 1976-02-11, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E16: listed hour 39 of 200 in the Little House on the Prairie guide, hour 16 of 22 in season 2. It aired 1976-02-11 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “A Matter of Faith” (S02E15). Next is “Troublemaker” (S02E17).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Mary, Laura, and Mr. Edwards' adopted son, Carl, long to get a first-hand look at the kinds of trains they learn about in school. The kids eventually con their parents into letting them go on a business trip with them. While messing around on a caboose at the train station, the children are in for the ride of their lives when it detaches from the train and runs loose.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Runaway Caboose sit in the Little House on the Prairie guide?
S02E16 is listed hour 39 of 200 — hour 16 of 22 in season 2, season 2 episode 16.
When did Little House on the Prairie S02E16 air?
The Runaway Caboose aired 1976-02-11 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Do I need the Wilder books first?
No. The series adapts the Little House novels into NBC family-hour drama. The books are cousins, not a required syllabus.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Michael Landon's Charles Ingalls dispenses pioneer virtue while Melissa Gilbert's Laura becomes the eyes of Walnut Grove. Laura Ingalls Wilder's books turned into NBC family-hour hardship, disaster, and comfort without sneering. Frontier sincerity as a genre: tears included, freeze-frame sweetness not required.
Walnut Grove, 1974: NBC wants a western that will not die of gunfighter myth, and Michael Landon bottles pioneer virtue until the living room weeps on schedule. Little House on the Prairie (1974–1983) drew from Laura Ingalls Wilder's books and ran nine seasons, some two hundred hours, with Landon producing, starring, and directing enough of the hour to make sincerity a brand. Melissa Gilbert's Laura is the eyes of a generation; Karen Grassle's Caroline and Melissa Sue Anderson's Mary complete the homestead.…
Filed against
- Michael Landon as Charles Ingalls
Michael Landon’s Little Joe Cartwright is the matinee face of Bonanza — the youngest son as Sunday-night color, the through-line who remained when the Ponderosa roster broke. NBC’s glossy family western treated the ranch like a parish;…
- Karen Grassle as Caroline Ingalls
Karen Grassle’s Caroline Ingalls kept Little House on the Prairie’s Walnut Grove human — Michael Landon’s Charles dispensing pioneer virtue, Melissa Gilbert’s Laura as the eyes of the books, NBC family-hour hardship, disaster, and comfort…
- Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls
Melissa Gilbert’s Laura Ingalls became the eyes of Walnut Grove on Little House on the Prairie — Michael Landon’s pioneer virtue, NBC family-hour hardship, disaster, and comfort without sneering. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books as 1970s…
- Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls
Melissa Sue Anderson’s Mary Ingalls held the quieter half of Little House on the Prairie’s Walnut Grove — 1970s NBC family-hour hardship beside Melissa Gilbert’s Laura, Michael Landon’s pioneer virtue, Wilder sincerity without a sneer. TV…
- Lindsay Greenbush as Carrie Ingalls
Lindsay Greenbush wore the little-sister braids as Carrie Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie — Walnut Grove’s youngest weather, pioneer hardship without a sneer, NBC family-hour tears included free of charge. Michael Landon’s virtue,…
- Sidney Greenbush as Carrie Ingalls
Sidney Greenbush was Carrie Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie — the youngest eyes in Walnut Grove while Michael Landon dispensed pioneer virtue and Melissa Gilbert's Laura narrated the hardship. NBC family-hour tears included, free.…