Favorite "S" caboose

OK.  Here's some:

This is probably my favorite caboose.  It's an old Kinsman Great Northern plywood sheathed caboose kit from the 1950's.  I built it up sometime in the late 1980's.  It's lettered for my Seattle Tacoma & Portland.

When I got into S in 1985, there really wasn't much available in the way of cabooses.  Converting the Flyer 930 Northeastern stye caboose was a possibility, buy I chose to hack an MPC Chessie bay window/cupola caboose into a regular bay window.  This one's also lettered for my ST&P.

As the OP has stated, the American Models wood caboose is a nice one.  It's the standard caboose on my current Kansas Grain Belt.  The 907 represents the original wood underframe caboose.

Here's the 900, representing the same caboose style rebuilt with a steel underframe.

And of course, the one thing about standardization, there's always an exception.  The 945 is a River Raisin (ex) C&O caboose. 

And finally (for now), or at least until I can unearth some other pictures, the SHS extended vision caboose.

Rusty

Good Day,

My first pick is the Frisco. Growing up in the Tulsa area in the 60's and 70's I often saw this type of Frisco caboose. I'd sure like to see the MKT EV Caboose offered someday too!

Regards,

Frank

Never thought I'd say this to some guys... but(t)... nice caboose!!

Seriously:

RR man:

Well, I need to eventually address the caboose issue.  I currently don't have any, so don't have a favorite yet.

Rusty: 

Seattle Tacoma & Portland?  Are you still doing some stuff for that theme?  The NW US had some neat railroading. I can understand your interest there.  Did the ST&P come along before the KCB, or after?  What's your current interest?

Swafford:

Yup on the Frisco!  However, my preferred Frisco caboose would be in either the boxcar red or caboose red schemes.  Didn't see a lot of the orange and white ones on the Fort Smith Sub "back then".

All:

Given my urban theme, I guess my thing will be "transfer cabeese".  These will have to be scratch-bashed using various available cabeese.  Haven't really applied myself to determining that direction yet.  Soooo much to do... SOOOOO little time/energy.  'Ya know'whatta' mean Vern?

The ST&P is my "legacy" railroad.  It's been with me since the early 1970's through HO, N and S.  Between Herald King and Rail Graphics, I ordered enough heralds in different sizes to cover multiple scales if needed.   

The last thing I did for the ST&P was an AM Pacific in the late 90's, whenever that loco first came out.  I just don't have the heart to sell the ST&P S stuff off, so it comes up for air every now and then. 

The Kansas Grain Belt became a reality around 1996 and is my current railroad for now and the forseeable future, but I have a ready supply of freelance roadname concepts available if the whims of change should strike again.

Rusty

quote:

but I have a ready supply of freelance roadname concepts available if the whims of change should strike again.

LOL!  I know that feeling.  For most of the years from about 1970 to about 1997, I modeled the Frisco in HO.  However, there were some freelanced "diversions", some of which only had some equipment built for it, but three freelanced diesel roads actually made it into layout form.

1. The "Combs Cass & Eastern" was based on a prototype line that ran in the most rugged part of the Ozarks back in the 1900's into the late 1920's.  I projected it into the modern era (modern was the early 1980's at the time) and there was a small roster of GP38's and GP40's plying the mountains. (Sort of used the De Queen & Eastern's operations/roster at the time.)  This layout survived about 2 or so years before being dismantled for a move.

2. The "Arkansas & Oklahoma". This was a shared theme with a good friend of mine. We super-imposed our Alco powered A&O over the Frisco's Fort Smith Sub to take advantage of the excellent line of Alco models that started being produced by Atlas at the time. (This layout came into existence a couple years after the end of the CC&E.)  This theme only lasted about a year... and I returned to modeling the Frisco for the next 10 years or so, using the same layout.

3. The "Kansas City & Gulf" was my last foray into a freelancing and again used the same layout as the A&O and the Frisco, but this time I extensively modified the track and towns to give the KC&G more individuality. I modeled the portion of the KC&G that ran through the Ozarks.  This layout was dismantled for a move, also.

Only models of the KC&G survive.

May still do some freelancing on the S scale layout... I'll just have to wait and see.

SHS announced a bay window caboose, but it never made it into production.  MTH should have all the engineering that was completed.

SHS only had the extended vision caboose.

Rusty

Thanks Rusty!  What a shame that it was never made! 

I'd like to see a transfer caboose and a new bay window made by someone but I suppose I'm dreaming.

I do have one of River Raisin's Milwaukee bays and a D&RGW standard caboose.  Also one of Don Thompson's Conrail short bay (window only), plus 4 of the SHS cabeese.

The trick is to get a red light on the end of those brass cabooses.  Hmmm.

BTW, Mr. Swafford...you would be upset with me if you saw what I did to the SHS Frisco caboose.  Suffice it to say it ain't Frisco no mo. 

2 more things before I head for coffee...

That AM wood unit is very nice.  Maybe one of those could find their way here.

Secondly, in a conversation (quite long) with Don Thompson shortly before he went boating, he told me that he actually had developed the extended caboose model and that Atlas O's model was a duplicate of his S scale unit.  Seems there was quite a bit of swapping of ideas between Don and Atlas friend and guru, the late Jim Weaver.

Well these aren't extended vision. These are two American Models wood side cabooses I doctored up for my Katy roster.

I know they aren't prototypical but I like them all the same.

Mark

Atlas took it on step further and desgined the tooling so the regular (non-extended)cupola version could be done also.

I once asked Don about it, and he said their tooling wasn't designed to do the regular cupola, but I got the impression he wished he thought of being able to do it.

Rusty

Found a couple of more cabeese in the archives...

Man, I don't believe I don't have a more recent photo of the SouthWind Models Santa Fe caboose.  From 2006:

Going even further back to 2003, a shot of a friend's visiting River Raisin NKP caboose (shot with my old .5 mega-pixel floppy disk camera!)

Let's not forget the trusty Flyer 930.  This one's been repainted.  Not 100% accurate for New Haven, but I lettered it with dry transfers I had on hand:

OK, the Wabash never had a bay window caboose, but my TrainMasters were lonely and AM offered this solution:

Rusty

Some genuine New Haven S gauge:

1. A sentimental favorite is a "1998 Gilbert Factory Tour and Train Show" caboose. These (~50 pieces) are the first trains assembled with original Gilbert parts on the floor of the Gilbert factory at Erector Square since the demise of the A. C. Gilbert Co.

2. A 25052 baywindow caboose - a favorite of Gilbert Flyer operators and collectors alike.

Bob

The 977 was my favorite as a kid...

What do you S gagers think of the K-line cabeeses. I think they are nice but far to big to run with shs or am or lionel..I run them with my big boy where they look almost normal

My O27 Marx bay-window caboose is too big for S scale but not as oversized as it is undersized for use with O scale or near O scale freight cars.  Since the K-Line bay window was the same as the Marx,  I imagine it would fit in very nice with your BB and larger AF cars.  It's all up to what pleases you and looks good to you.  I tried a small Marx cupola caboose on American Models scale trucks a long time ago, was not as good as the AF caboose and quickly retired. 

Greg

The original caboose made by Industrial rail was severely undersized for O, but made a nice S caboose when the trucks were changed.

I measured the IR caboose verses my SouthWind one and the IR caboose was less than a scale inch too wide.  Close enuff, although the Cupola ends were a little crude...

Still got one sitting on the duct-work waiting to be scalified...

Rusty

Group,

S-scale B&O I-1 laser cut kit by Lake Junction Models, LLC. Available in Hi-Rail and Scale

Ed Sauers

Ed, I've got to have one of those...they are sweet!

I bought an AM bay window at Janesville, undecorated and I'm going to do the interior.

Anyone know where I can get scale seats, cabinets, etc.?

I'm also going to power it so I can install a small conductor's lamp above his desk.

Should be neat when I'm finished.

Exterior colors will be body Maine Central harvest gold with MEC pinetree green top.

I need powered trucks too  but I imagine AM has them.

John,

At the S Scale SIG site, there's a nice article by Brooks Stover on this very caboose.  He touches on how he did the interior.

http://sscale.org/638/volume-1...1-caboose-laser-kit/

Mike A.

Mike,

Thanks, I actually got a copy from Brooks when he submitted it. Bill's near future plans are to produce a B&O I5 and B&O I10 (ex. BR&P). Bill also has a line of S-scale B&O yard building on his site.

Ed Sauers