Has Anyone Built a Scale Transfer Caboose ?

Brother Love built a Southern Railway transfer caboose and a Missouri Pacific transfer caboose for me. 

I think you could build it anyway you like. No any two were alike. Take a flatcar and put a structure on it.

Pete

Lionel offered a Bethlehem Steel transfer caboose (6-36547) which I have used for projects.

Forum member Brother Love is certainly the go to person for Transfer Cabooses.  He was working on several Penn Central ones as well as I recall.  As Pete mentions above, they are not too hard to kitbash either.  You could freelance some really interesting ones.

This is the one that I built that was used by the N&W's "East End Shops Crew" here in Roanoke.

I have built one for float bridge service.
will look over files for photo if old  PC still working.

really easy and fun as stated above.

Hey Big Jim! That’s a nice model you built!

I built a Penn Central N9E transfer caboose several years ago.  I used a Lionel PS-1 boxcar frame and built the body from sheet styrene.  The roof is from made from an Atlas O extended cupola caboose roof.  I made propane tanks from brass rod.

Tom

Here's one of my scratchbuilt ones:

@Tom Densel posted:

I built a Penn Central N9E transfer caboose several years ago.  I used a Lionel PS-1 boxcar frame and built the body from sheet styrene.  The roof is from made from an Atlas O extended cupola caboose roof.  I made propane tanks from brass rod

Tom

Tom was the inspiration for mine.  Mine is also not to scale from the only Chessie prototype.  But for good reason.  There is a battery and BlueRail board in the caboose. I cut up an MTH bay window caboose.

https://ogrforum.com/...sie-transfer-caboose

Thanks, everybody.

Big Jim ... that thing is cool!

I saw one of Brother Love's transfer cabooses someplace ... think it was Conrail ... it was awesome! But, I want to try to do it myself ... I've never built anything before.

Really nice work everyone did.

@Tom Densel posted:

I built a Penn Central N9E transfer caboose several years ago.  I used a Lionel PS-1 boxcar frame and built the body from sheet styrene.  The roof is from made from an Atlas O extended cupola caboose roof.  I made propane tanks from brass rod.

Tom ... where are those handrails and stanchions from? Thanks.

Here is a homemade transfer caboose made from a flat car and junk caboose cab.  This was a real easy project with mostly painting and decaling.  The most fun was making the railing from brass rods using a homemade jig.  It can be made scale by using scale donor parts.

More details here.

https://ogrforum.com/...ou-have-made?page=12

Charlie

@Big Jim posted:

This is the one that I built that was used by the N&W's "East End Shops Crew" here in Roanoke.

Big Jim,

  Nicely done. Is that a FM Train Master short hood they used and you used? Thanks for sharing one of the more unusual pieces to model.

Tom

BigJim,

That is one neat (and ugly!) looking transfer caboose! The other ones shown on this thread are really well done too.

@CNJ Jim posted:

Thanks, everybody.

Tom ... where are those handrails and stanchions from? Thanks.

If I remember correctly, I got them from Atlas O.  Not sure which locomotive they are from.  I think I ended up using brass wire for the railings.  I do remember it was a PITA!

Tom

@PRR8976 posted:

Big Jim,

  Nicely done. Is that a FM Train Master short hood they used and you used? Thanks for sharing one of the more unusual pieces to model.

Tom

Thank you all for the kind words!!

Yes, I had a spare FM TM body lying around and I found an MTH Civil War cannon car that had the short wheel base. Then I just added some imagineering." I am still in need of a very small Hobby Horse to complete the car! 😉

making a center cab as a 3D print is the easy part, the key is in the details!

I like the many versions and attention to the various details and graphics.

Hand crafted by our very own Brother Love.

Ron

@Choo Choo Charlie posted:

Here is a homemade transfer caboose made from a flat car and junk caboose cab.  This was a real easy project with mostly painting and decaling.  The most fun was making the railing from brass rods using a homemade jig.  It can be made scale by using scale donor parts.

More details here.

https://ogrforum.com/...ou-have-made?page=12

Charlie

Charlie that is a nifty construction. I always love seeing what you come up with! I am going to try my hand at making my own.

@Big Jim posted:

Thank you all for the kind words!!

Yes, I had a spare FM TM body lying around and I found an MTH Civil War cannon car that had the short wheel base. Then I just added some imagineering." I am still in need of a very small Hobby Horse to complete the car! 😉

I had to look at the original photo a couple times to see if that horse was on the caboose or hanging behind it.  Nicely done on your model.  Hard to tell from the photo, but it appears that horse could be one of those children's ride on horses.  I had one as a kid but my was a "Black Stallion".   I've seen small horses like that available as cake decorations, (side benefit of having twin girls), a search on the internet may provide a source.

@Ironhorseman posted:

I had to look at the original photo a couple times to see if that horse was on the caboose or hanging behind it.  Nicely done on your model.  Hard to tell from the photo, but it appears that horse could be one of those children's ride on horses.  I had one as a kid but my was a "Black Stallion".   I've seen small horses like that available as cake decorations, (side benefit of having twin girls), a search on the internet may provide a source.

Yes, the hobby horse was on top of the hood. One of those we used to ride as a kid that had springs attached to a frame.

Was confused by your interest in "scale", and posting the question in the "Traditional" category.

So, I sez to myself, 'What the heck, I'll post this old traditional effort born from a derelict 6517 'boose.'

Not prototypical, but similar to SP's actual #1. 

Hey,...it was a fun project.

FWIW...

...and hardly in a class with Brother Love's gorgeous efforts!!

KD

@dkdkrd posted:

Was confused by your interest in "scale", and posting the question in the "Traditional" category.

So, I sez to myself, 'What the heck, I'll post this old traditional effort born from a derelict 6517 'boose.'

Not prototypical, but similar to SP's actual #1.

Hey,...it was a fun project.

FWIW...

...and hardly in a class with Brother Love's gorgeous efforts!!

KD

I like it!!! 

Tom

This is the kind of thread that makes the forum so much fun!   Love all the creativity exhibited here.

@dkdkrd posted:

Was confused by your interest in "scale", and posting the question in the "Traditional" category.

So, I sez to myself, 'What the heck, I'll post this old traditional effort born from a derelict 6517 'boose.'

I didn't know whether to put it 2RS or 3RS, so I split the difference and put it in Traditional. lol. I'm scatterbrained that way. Luckily, you're the first person to yell at me about it.

Beautiful! Terrific job.

...and hardly in a class with Brother Love's gorgeous efforts!!

Yea ... I have to guard against comparing what I do to his. Seeing his work with a Conrail transfer caboose is what got me interested in building one myself.

While technically a road caboose, many railroads had transfer cabooses that look like the Mopac-built short bay window cabooses.  I kitbashed a pair using Atlas models and reused the flashing EOT and inside lighting.  The pitch on the roof is too steep, but good enough for a runner.

What impresses me is all the beautiful handrail work, and detail on these!

These are some examples of my belief that O Scalers are some of the best modelers in the hobby! When "they" don't make em' we have to.

Dave

@Tim Mc posted:

I kitbashed a pair using Atlas models and reused the flashing EOT and inside lighting.

Tim, Those are beautiful models. Very well decorated. What Atlas models did you start with? Regards, Pat B.

Thanks Pat!  I believe one was an Atlas 2R wide vision and the other was a standard cupola version.

Here's a good use for a transfer caboose, housing a radio controlled power supply for coupled animated accessory cars.

I had mentioned Brother Love's scratch built Conrail transfer caboose ... I found the photo, figured I should post it ...

@BOB WALKER posted:

Here's a good use for a transfer caboose, housing a radio controlled power supply for coupled animated accessory cars.

Great Minds Bob...