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!