ATSF Wartime “Church Pew” caboose

Interesting concept for sure... Great model as always, Malcolm.

Yves

Beautiful work Malcolm.  Welcome back!!

You don't know me but welcome back mate, I like your work. Roo.

I built a model of one of those, but not an exact scale model as that is, as l like "different" cabooses. Will want to see your finished model, and have missed seeing your efforts on here.

Thanks guys! Here are a few “almost finished” photos.

Malcolm welcome back, it's great to see your fantastic workmanship again. My all time favorite caboose is the Akron Canton and Youngstown bay window I got from you. Has to be one of the best on the planet!

Great to have you back on the forum. You have been missed! Never heard of the church pew caboose, and can't imagine how you would convince someone to take a ride on the top of that thing.

Beautiful work as usual...

Your use of an Exacto knife is like a painter using their brush.   Thanks for sharing your work.

Very interesting.  I'm sure the originals were the brainchild of some penny pinching RR exec, re-purpose an old freight car into a cabin car on the cheap.  Nice work as always Malcolm.  Good to have you back.

Hey Malcolm, welcome back.

Do you have any idea of the reason for this seating on top of the roof????

Ron

Incredible model you've made! Can you elaborate on the history of this prototype? 

Riding up there certainly could make one find religion...

Rusty

coach joe posted:

Very interesting.  I'm sure the originals were the brainchild of some penny pinching RR exec, re-purpose an old freight car into a cabin car on the cheap.  Nice work as always Malcolm.  Good to have you back.

From what I remember reading, these were wartime rebuilds.  Expediency, material shortages and increased traffic are the reason these were built.

Rusty

Good looking model! 

Jeff C

Is this the OSHA version?

The "church seats" are OSHA.............. Outside Seeing Heavenly Angels if you sat on those things very often.

coach joe posted:

Very interesting.  I'm sure the originals were the brainchild of some penny pinching RR exec, re-purpose an old freight car into a cabin car on the cheap.  Nice work as always Malcolm.  Good to have you back.

Nope, as stated earlier there were plenty of boxcar cabooses/cabins during World War II.   Shortages of materials as well as wartime priorities made for many creative ways to save man hours and materials.   Think of the common NX23 Pennsy boxcar cabin made by adding porthole windows as well as a small bay window to an X23 single sheathed box car.

Interesting concept, it's cupola seating without the protective cupola.  Must have been interesting getting up and down during train movement and I can't imagine being up there with slack action banging that car around. 

Would be great to know what type of service they were used in to make more sense of the Santa Fe's idea.

Surely just on branch line service where speeds were low. 

Will Ebbert posted:

Surely just on branch line service where speeds were low. 

Doesn't look like a branch line to me...

Rusty

Will Ebbert posted:

Surely just on branch line service where speeds were low. 

Why would that be a requirement?

I certainly wouldn't want to be up there at any significant speed. 

I'm thinking, living here in the Central Valley where it's often times well over 100, sitting up there might be welcome relief.

I see we have no empirical info on why.  I was wondering if by chance that is where armed guards "stood" their post on trains of military consist.?

Rusty Traque:   Great find !

Rock Island had similar "war emergency" converted boxcars, with open roof seating. Believe it was Al Kamm Sr who built a model of one, in an article in Model Railroader, in the late '50's.

Pennsy, Burlington, Northern Pacific and Nickel Plate converted boxcars into cabooses, during WWII. Any other roads?

welcome back. I am starting the process of recovering from a reverse shoulder arthroplasty, means I just got a new shoulder joint. Lots of time to read for a few weeks.

Dick

Get well soon Dick. Roo.

Thanks everyone. These are my last ones to build. I have 14 O scale and 17 HO scale cabooses to finish and I am retiring. I have a long list of things I want to build for myself and I need the time to work on my own layout. I would like to get it finished (if you ever really finish a layout) while I am on the right side of the grass. 

Brother_Love posted:

Thanks everyone. These are my last ones to build. I have 14 O scale and 17 HO scale cabooses to finish and I am retiring. I have a long list of things I want to build for myself and I need the time to work on my own layout. I would like to get it finished (if you ever really finish a layout) while I am on the right side of the grass. 

Oh no...say it isn't so, Malcolm!  I was hoping to have you build me one more before you called it quits.  Are you sure you can't add just ONE more to your 31-caboose build list...LOL?? 

Regardless, it's really great to see you posting on the Forum again, Malcolm!  I sure hope you share some (or all) of those builds-as well as your future layout construction-with us here.

Will Ebbert posted:

Surely just on branch line service where speeds were low. 

Not any different than the brakeman walking from rooftop to rooftop on mainline trains. It was the job, and a big reason RR fatalities were so high back then.

Incredible 

Just because you are retiring from your building business means you will have more time to show us what you are building for your own layout.  Your great works helps all of us improve our own projects. Please don't stop showing this great modeling skills you have.

Dick

Great to see you back and in fine modelling form.

Have dropped you an e--mail regarding the already discussed projects

Jonathan

I believe they were referred to as Hollywood caboose.     Will check my atsf book...

Just ran across a picture of a ATSF waycar with roof top seating (The Iron Horse at War - Valle - p. 186).

The picture caption notes that these waycars would have been used for single state branch line local run service only (to stay clear of federal regulations).

Finished! Thanks for all the input. I had 2 more cut out and will finish them after my next surgery and before retirement.

Brother_Love posted:

Finished! Thanks for all the input. I had 2 more cut out and will finish them after my next surgery and before retirement.

More fantastic craftsmanship!  I am happy and proud of my two cads and the N&W dynamometer car you made for me.

The best with your surgery.  Myself, I am six + weeks PostOp so know how it is.

Ron

Where can l find a good photo of the similar Rock Island one?  Never seen that..