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I have been loosing the few pieces of hair I have left trying to figure out what caboose to buy to go with my Railking PRR K-4.   I have looked at everything I can find and the really nice ones like N6 by MTH is scale.  MTH Railking makes their N5 series that one of their advertisements says "near-scale" (30-7730 for example).  They also offer a neat wooden caboose with a low copula (30-7722) that seems like a style never used by the PRR?   K-Line also makes a O/O27 PRR caboose (K-6114).  Again no hint on its actual size.  There is always the old Lionel porthole caboose.  The trouble is that I have never seen any of them except for the vintage Lionel porthole so I am just picture shopping.  I just do not want a huge caboose on the back of my K-4 but my old Lionel (2457) is on the opposite end of the spectrum.  Your recommendations and thoughts will be greatly appreciated. 

Last edited by Jeff Noll
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I think that the porthole caboose is scale, but based on a relatively small prototype. So it does not look too out of place behind the larger traditional-sized engines. To give you an idea, here's a picture of the porthole caboose next to the standard SP type traditional Lionel caboose. The difference in size is most easily appreciated in a top-down view.

cabooses

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The Lionel n5c cabin car postwar and correct are very close to scale. I have compared it with a Weaver Models brass scale N5c cabin car and the Lionel is so close. The MTH premier and RK versions of the N5c are more 1:43 scale and thus a little taller and a little wider but proportionately look good.

K-Line N5c cabins are too quirky looking. The angles are off on the cupola as well as the trucks are positioned too far in.

The K4 was almost exclusively a passenger engine and remained so to its last days pulling commuters.  That said, there are pictures of it pulling reefers and a few show it pulling freight.  There was an article sometime back that stated they pulled freight to break them in after major overhauls.  Also, one may have been the only engine available when a freight engine was needed.  If you want to pull freight with your K4, I'd say do it.

The bottom cabin you show is an N6 cabin and was used by the PRR.  I'm not sure of the scale of it compared to an RK locomotive.  The car that actually would scale out best with a PRR RK steam locomotive is Lionel's early postwar N5b.  An interesting combination of tinplate with scale like proportions.  I have a few of these I picked up at a local auction and they are smaller than my scale sized versions.

lionel-early-postwar-2457-pennsylvania-deluxe-metal-caboose-o-gauge-a60edb2be0553efc57f65b923890d39f

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Again, what is confusing me is not the style or type of caboose but how large it is.  I used this photo on a previous thread of mine but it illustrates what I am driving at.  A O scale MTH caboose and a "traditional" William's Madison.  Assume the coach is the height of the tender.  I would like to avoid this in the future and would  like both pieces to be approximately the same size (i.e. height/scale).

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Last edited by Jeff Noll
Jeff Noll posted:

Does this have any PRR prototype roots or is it just a fantasy item. 

 

No not pennsy.  Essentially a wooden NYC caboose."

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Yep - definitely not PRR - it's NYC. Worlds colliding. Not permitted. What was MTH thinking...!?

Anyway, the model is OK for what it is (RK) - but why the trucks are so far outboard I do not know. Not for tight curves, as other RK cars don't do this. Maybe an existing frame for a longer car...?

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The PRR Lionel PW porthole clones - as in Williams - or the later Lionel re-issues are reasonably accurate and of a smaller size. I'd go that way for your K4.

The Lionel N5c (porthole caboose) is the correct length and the body is the right height, but it is way too narrow for scale.   I kitbashed one into a scale version by cutting lengthwise down the middle and filling in with styrene and putty.   It is about 5/16-3/8 too narrow.

The MTH N5C is about correct scale.    The MTH N6 appears to be about correct scale.

I have not measured the MTH N8 or the Lionel N5 but they look close too.

The Kline N5C is all wrong in the cupola, it does not look like a pennsy caboose at all.

The Lionel low cupula car mentioned is an NYC prototype whatever lionel painted it.   It has pretty good dimensions for prototype for the NYC caboose.

So my choices in order would be the MTH N5C, MTH N6, Lionel N5b, and MTH N8.    Also get a non-fancy paint job.  In steam era, it should be all freight car color, no yellow cupola,  or black roof.   Black roof for very late team.

 

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