The Caboose

Conrail 18652, former Lehigh Valley 95100, in Manchester, NY, September 2011 - Photo by Joe Nugent

The caboose has always been one of my favorite parts of railroading.  Long ago, I used to watch the trains go by my Grandparent's house in Indiana, on the street trackage of 15th Ave in New Albany.  Beyond the diesels Milwaukee Road and L&N, like every child, I waited to see the caboose at the end.  The best was sleeping over and waking up at all hours of the night to watch the flashing red beacon gently float out of sight as the train started its journey over the Ohio River.

Cabooses still play a role in prototype railroading, as well as model railroad operations no matter what the era.  While once used on all trains, the caboose is still used today as a shoving platform for a crew to act as the lookout on long reverse moves during local switching, or as a base for radio control locomotive operations.  This means that you can integrate a caboose into almost every layout.  And why wouldn't you want to?  They are a fun build, and because they varied so widely depending on the railroad, era, union requirements, and crew preferences, you can use any number of models as a starting point, or just weather one of the beautiful RTR models on the market.  

I'll post some photos and information on a recent build in a future post, but for now, I wanted to share a link to some photos that former RIT Model Railroad Club President Joe Nugent took last week.  This is one of 2 cabooses that was located for a couple of years in Manchester, NY, and recently hauled away, hopefully to a good home.  If you happen to be modeling a Lehigh Valley, Conrail, Reading, or other caboose with the Northeastern Model as the basis, these are invaluable for getting a rare look at the interior.  Enjoy!       

Progression

As model railroaders, we create a physical model of history, or at least how a locomotive, freight car, or caboose looked at a certain point in time.  I find it fascinating to look back at the history of a prototype and see where it has come from, which offers up the chance to build that same model as it might have looked long ago.  For instance, this caboose, long-stationed in Plattsburgh, NY:

The Bay - Where the action is.

This is Delaware & Hudson caboose number 35815. Originally, it was built in 1970 as Erie Lackawanna #C378.  Shown in March of 1976 in Marion, OH, less than a month before Conrail, it won't hold these colors for long:

Erie Lackawanna C378, from the collection of Gene Dent / fallenflags.org

Almost immediately, the shops in Oneonta patched over the EL heralds and markings, applying a quick temporary fix:

Date unknown, assumed 1976, from the D&H Virtual Museum

By 1979, it had been repainted into the D&H "Spartan Scheme", at least matching the corporate identity of the classic red caboose:

35815 in 1979, from the D&H Virtual Museum

The 35815 remained in this scheme, as best I can tell, until the D&H was absorbed into Guilford in 1984.  By then, things were pretty rough on the railroad, and the caboose ended up being damaged by fire.  This resulted in the caboose emerging from the repair shop in Guilford's orange paint, with a "G" herald to the left of the bay window.  While I can't seem to locate a photo of the caboose in that scheme ( Guilford was not well-liked by railfans ), the caboose survived those tough times. The D&H was purchased by Canadian Pacific in 1991, and by 1993, it was wearing the same scheme applied in the mid 1980's, only with the "G" patched over. Check out this photo.

Note the square of off-color paint, covering the "G". Thank God.

When I lived in Plattsburgh in 1996 - 1997, I saw this caboose ( or a close relative ) go up and down the main from the yard to the Georgia Pacific plant every day.  It looked much the same as it does now, perhaps minus the graffiti. 

Primer finally showing through after 20+ years of foot traffic

A defaced 35815 still holding onto D&H livery

Interestingly, 35815 was sitting parked in Plattsburgh recently with a GP38-2 has quite a history itself, originally built as Lehigh Valley 319 in 1972, then shipped off to D&H as 7319, then D&H 225, then 7306, and finally re-painted by CP Rail at their Ogden shops into STL&H 7306 in April of 1997. 

Resting on a weekend, basking in the sun, STL&H 7306 & D&H 35815

So even with some gaps in the history of 35815, you can still see quite a progression in age and paint.  The choice becomes at which point to model the prototype, generally dictated by the chosen modeling era.  But for those that want to show off weathering skills, maybe a touch of D&H red under that orange would be neat to see.  Nothing wrong with being able to see some of the history, as well as know about it.  

Taking Time

As the anniversary of 9/11 comes around, there seems to be a renewed focus on family, with stories in the news reminding us to hug our kids and tell those around you that you care for, and love them.  You'd think this all goes without saying - as a parent, we unconditionally love our children.  However, there's plenty of days that we sit back and think about the wrong things we said, maybe losing our tempers, or not spending enough time with them.  If you're like me, you also see your "Me Time" at a premium, so why not kill 2 birds with one stone?

B and I, trackside in Plattsburgh, NY Labor Day 2011

Make railfanning an adventure with your kids.  It is a great reason to get out of the house and away from the video games.  When you find a train, take the time to talk about what you're seeing, ask them what they think is in each car, and explain why you're closely scrutinizing the details of those 100 ton barber trucks.  Kids are sponges, and they soak up everything you put out - good, bad, or ugly.  They may not really care about what you're seeing, but they will appreciate that you're sharing the experience with them.  Besides, what kid ( or adult ) isn't impressed by the power of three C44-9W's?