Favorite Cabeese (Cabooses)

@VistaDomeScott posted:

I keep finding more favorites

Me too:

Central of New Jersey by Lionel (I think?). Arnold

3 MTH - NYC & EL are Railking; Reading is Premier.

@Mark V. Spadaro posted:

3 MTH - NYC & EL are Railking; Reading is Premier.

Very nice; love these very attractive "cabeese" of Northeastern fallen flag railroads.

Sad to say  the Milwaukee Roads horizontal ribbed bay window caboose  . from what I have seen only Overland and Weaver  ever made them  , ( How I mis Weaver)

These are two of my favorite cabooses.

In 1976 Lionel had a set called the Empire Express. There was a jade green New York Central bay window caboose in this set. I loved that caboose.

@jim sutter posted:

In 1976 Lionel had a set called the Empire Express. There was a jade green New York Central bay window caboose in this set. I loved that caboose.

Is this the one Jim?  This one is from my Lionel Empire State Express set which  was manufactured in 1976.  I bought the set in early 1977 for $160.00.  Still have it today and it runs great .  Sound of steam still works too.

OKHIKER,

That's the caboose. I loved it. Thank you for posting a picture of it. I remember buying three of them from a fellow and his wife. They were set up in the yellow hall just as you went through the door and to the right. They also had two or three Fort Knox gold bullion cars from the Southern Pacific Limited set. I bought them too.

This auto - train caboose is certainly not the precise replica of the prototype caboose that PurplePapa created.   It is a stock Lionel caboose, with fantastic paint job by Christine Braden. 

I have always loved cabeese of all shapes, sizes, and colors - possibly my favorite of all rolling stock.

Have to agree with Jim on the P&E - didn’t buy the whole set, but picked up the jade green caboose - definitely striking!!!

And here’s a couple of more recent additions… a Metro North and Lawn-guy-land

Just found this ACL photo. Built back in 2017.This is one of a few bay window cabooses that ACL had.This one was used on my hometown branch through about 1953.

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

George, I really like the way you weathered this caboose. IMO, less is more when it comes to weathering. Arnold

Well actually, when it comes to mill cabooses like WSX#4, MORE is MORE.     Those of us who are determined to model the steel industry accurately (or have ever worked in it) would acknowledge that you can't weather a steel mill too much. 

One of my pet peeves is that 99.99% of the steel mill models I see are pristine.  That's fine if you're modeling them 5 minutes after opening. 

George

While the price of the latest 'new catalog' locomotive release has generally been beyond my justification; I always enjoy the possibilities of another caboose that the most recent catalog has to offer!  To me the anticipation and pleasure I get out of a new caboose are equal to what others may receive out of the newest Legacy engine. Needless to say, I have accumulated a few  cabeese over the years, my favorite being the little MTH  bobber caboose ( now produced for Lionel, and quite a bit more expensive).

How about a caboose train?

My favorite three are all early Flyer

1917 only - Uses a boxcar body litho with no punched doors and a cupola on the roof

1918 - Uses a boxcar body with caboose lithograph and two punched windows on each side, with the word "Caboose" centered below the windows.

1928 only.  This is the earliest production 1928 American Flyer 3211 caboose with intricate hand rails.  This one has been restored, but is an original caboose.  There are only a few of these cabooses known to exist, as the handrails must have taken a lot of time to assemble and the design was changed quickly.  To give one an idea of the intricate handrails, they are 1 piece on each end that goes from side to side, wrapping around and soldered to the corner posts.  However, the artwork lived on in the catalogs through the mid 1930s for individual sale cabooses.

NWL

Three of my favorites...

My favorite caboose.  Lionel 1960 6357-50, the "Father & Son" set caboose.  Not common. 

I've had this for years.

@Tom Densel posted:

While I have quite a few cabeese, I consider this one of my favorites.  It seems to get the most run time:

Tom

Rode on one of these when I was a young boy.  The local crew invited my brother and I up to ride to the next town.  Harrison, Ohio.  Is this a 3 rail version?  I don't think I've seen this mass produced...

@Nation Wide Lines posted:

My favorite three are all early Flyer

1917 only - Uses a boxcar body litho with no punched doors and a cupola on the roof

1918 - Uses a boxcar body with caboose lithograph and two punched windows on each side, with the word "Caboose" centered below the windows.

1928 only.  This is the earliest production 1928 American Flyer 3211 caboose with intricate hand rails.  This one has been restored, but is an original caboose.  There are only a few of these cabooses known to exist, as the handrails must have taken a lot of time to assemble and the design was changed quickly.  To give one an idea of the intricate handrails, they are 1 piece on each end that goes from side to side, wrapping around and soldered to the corner posts.  However, the artwork lived on in the catalogs through the mid 1930s for individual sale cabooses.

NWL

Ver cute!

In the wild

3 plain Jane, run of the mill MPC cabooses, have all had a second collector mounted and soldered by the very talented Ron045. Flicker free!

Unfortunately, the NH caboose succumbed to the relentless pull of gravity, hitting one of the few non carpeted spaces, and one of the newly enhanced trucks broke into multiple pieces!😬😬😬

I have always loved the 4-wheel bobbers, and MTH’s diecast-frame version is at the top of my list. Of the roughly 20 MTH bobber cabooses I have, this is my favorite.

@das boot posted:

A bit like ice cream, my favorite kit bashed caboose for this week is USMC.

No "Great Train Robbery" here! No, sir!

I have a sickness for the Williams N5C cabeese! one of my favorite is MONON with fantasy paint.

This is a K-Line product repainted and lettered for one of my home roads. 

After posting these photos on the Frisco.org web page a retired engineer who administrates the Frisco website sent me this photo:

The same road number as my model !!!  What are the chances?

This b&w photo is historical material, and no copyright is claimed.

One of my favs.  MTH Premier woodside Ma & Pa caboose.  I'm so grateful that MTH produced products in lesser known road heralds.  Since I model 4 Maryland short lines, this caboose was a must have.

Custom Caboose

Milwaukee Rib-side caboose, the best.

Dick

@trumpettrain posted:

One of my favs.  MTH Premier woodside Ma & Pa caboose.  I'm so grateful that MTH produced products in lesser known road heralds.  Since I model 4 Maryland short lines, this caboose was a must have.

Love this, Patrick.

As always, you have taken gorgeous photos of charming scenes from your gorgeous layout. Your sense of color, photography skills, and model railroading skills, are all, IMO, superb.

You, my dear Forum friend, are truly an artist.

Arnold

One more thing, Patrick,

I just read your wonderful above post a second time.

You have done something else I greatly admire, that I, and other Forum friends of ours, have done, which was recently discussed in another recent topic that I started.

By having your layout focus on a few Maryland short lines, you have turned your layout into "a museum of sorts."

IMO, this makes the layout transcend the trains, so it can be of keen interest to those not interested in model trains, as wonderful as we know they are.

In my further opinion, this is one of the highest and best uses for creating a train layout, arguably the highest and best use.

Arnold

Here are my most recent purchases and, hence, current favorites .  Both in classic red.

@prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Although its tough for me to decide as well, the MTH operating caboose I must say is a real standout

https://youtu.be/s0CDJiUEmvo

That is one of my favorites also sir.

I might have missed something in your video but how did you activate the latern figure ?  .    On my caboose I have to activate mine with MTH's ten inch straight electromagnet track.   I didn't notice one on your layout.     

My favorite is the Baldwin Locomotive Works transfer caboose that Lionel did several years ago. I think they did a fantastic job on this car. Crisp lettering, great paint color and a lot of detail.

RAY

I made this from a broken caboose in 1954. A light and coupler were added about 60 years later. I used to couple it with a rubber band.

My first caboose from a Marx 999 engine freight set we got from Santa in 1948 or so.

Charlie

@David Nissen posted:

I made this from a broken caboose in 1954. A light and coupler were added about 60 years later. I used to couple it with a rubber band.

The epitome of model railroad kit bashing Dave.    Love it .

In 1954 I was still trying to keep the 6220 from flying off curves at Christmas time.

@David Nissen posted:

I made this from a broken caboose in 1954. A light and coupler were added about 60 years later. I used to couple it with a rubber band.

@David Nissen:

Kind of a funny looking thing, but very resourceful of you.

Well I do "like" cabs.  I have 72 rostered.

But the most significant ones are hand crafted by "Brother Love."

And his N&W Dynamometer car to run directly behind the N&W TE-1 "John Henry."

Then there is this MTH screw up!

Last but not lease, MTH's fantasy NS bay window.  Looks great with the NS OCS engines.

Ron

Well.....I'll bet the ones on the shelves are upset with me. ....but I had to stop somewhere .

So I hope I didn't post too many.                                       MTH / RK and Premier