build your own caboose

The first thing you need are pictures of the caboose you want to model. The next thing would be a good scale drawing of the car--although you can get rough dimensions by studying photos of the car.

i would suggest you do a search for "Brother Love" on this forum in the 2-rail section. Malcolm has built a bunch of cabeese, and there is quite a bit of documentation of his work in his posts.

Jeff C

La Belle Woodworking Co.  WWW.labellemodels.com  has the kit for the famous CB&Q "drovers" coach/caboose car. Their kits, both HO Scale and O Scale, are some of the best on the market.

I was given a drawing of the CNW drover car. They were built by ACF with a construction similar to the bay window cabooses one a slightly longer frame. You'd use the MTH wood beam caboose trucks. Haven't gotten around to cutting one from styrene yet.

Tom Houle built this model from styrene.

Here's an interior shot from a preserved CNW drover car.

From what I've read, drover cars usually rode in front of livestock cars as opposed to the rear of the train unless the cars were empty. After some time on the road, I'm sure those stock cars got pretty ripe.

Hallmark/Ajin did some brass ATSF drover cars. I was lucky enough to be able to grab one on eBay.

Model: 

Surviving Prototype in Mojave Museum in California: 

Why don't you contract forum member Brother Love to build one?

Kurt

You can build one yourself with styrene. It is easy to work with and you will be prouder of it if you build it.'\

The MKT version here is all styrene.

Go for it!

Malcolm

Oops..lost a phrase out of a couple of sentences in my posting above...Gloor Craft(Weaver) had a couple of caboose kits that can be bashed.  For interesting cabooses, check the back pages of my "Sears catalogs of caboose drools", Beebe and Clegg's "Mixed Train Daily", and Wm. Knapke's "The Railroad Caboose".  Brother Love's Katy version above is not in either book, but a l-o-ong W,B,T,&S one is similar, in MTD, and one I have long wanted to model.  Several of those pictured have been done in HO brass, but only the ATSF one pictured above is in O scale brass and in the books.  La Belle offered(s?) the Burlington caboose/combine in an O scale kit.  

Thanks so much for all the replies and the tips, I want to try to build something myself once so these thoughts are appreciated. 

For your information, and that of other caboose nuts like myself, Walthers has a book

titled "Caboose Gallery", by Brian Soloman, that purports to cover caboose history

(I'd like to hear comments from anyone who has this book), and there is a large hardbound book, "Cabooses of the Missouri Pacific Lines", by G.J. Michels, Jr.

While some railroads seem to have few styles of cabooses, if there is one that had

more styles, including side doors, combines, and drovers than the MoPac, I'd like to know what it is?

While flipping through the Michels book mentioned above, and remembering that

there is someone on here who builds good models of Fla. East Coast equipment,

I see that the MoPac, like the Great Western sugar beet road, bought some of the

side door FEC cabooses second hand that were built in 1926 by the Mount Vernon

Car Co.  I have an O scale plan of these cabooses hanging on my bookcase to remind

me that I need to build a couple of models of those cabooses.

You could scratchbuild any CB&Q waycar (caboose) from this book:

BURLINGTON WAYCAR DRAWING BOOK

For UP, see BOOSES OF THE UNION PACIFIC

Both are availble from Caboose Hobbies.

ChipR

Here is a brass ATSF one all painted.

LaBelle has the before mentioned kit, but if you want your own rendition that was never made- or should'vew been made, try kit bashing an old combine or passenger car withe the correct roof and a spare caboose cupola.

CB&Q made a neat lil way car out of a 4 window caboose...remove one window and add a small baggage door..easy.....one of these days I'm gonna make it when I find the right caboose body! 

Nice job....simple scribed siding with "L" stock for support braces.

.125 spaced siding?