Tail End Tuesday

Some Tail Ends on this fine Tuesday

A tail end of a different sort.  Years ago when Matt Kenseth was still a Nascar driver, my nephew was on his pit crew.  I was lucky enough to find a model of his DeWalt #17 car.  I staged it in front of the model of my sister's house, his Mom, that I made.  I had figures made up that represented her, her husband, and 3 sons.  Made for a nice scene for them, OK, and me too!

- walt

@Sitka Mark wonderful night scene! I sure like the pictures from a distance as it gives a big picture of your layout!

@walt rapp nice way to show your support for Dewalt! 

Seems everyone has great photos to share!

Tail end of the 'City of Miami' pulled by a requisitioned Southern PS4 due to a failed IC locomotive.

The tender rear of a C&O 0-8-0

Here’s the tail end of New Haven Tender 3025 as I was backing it down to the station at the end of my cab ride in Essex CT. 4/19.

New Haven C-665 is a Weaver model of a Northeastern Caboose with four windows on each side – a type that the New Haven Railroad did not own. The real New Haven C-665 (Class NE-6) was built by International Car Company with two windows on each side. So, the Weaver model is nice but not prototypical...

I ran it at the tail end of a train headed by New Haven Railroad USRA 0-8-0 Steam Locomotive #3409.

Photos and video on my 10’-by-5’ layout.

MELGAR

Realizing I need to create some new tail ends for this thread.  I'm running out.

From 2011 this is an unusual combination of details.  A former Illinois Central observation lounge on the Arizona Eastern in Globe, Arizona wearing a N&W inspired drumhead. 

This was a fun trip during its brief tenure in rural AZ service.

Here is the tail end of a tail end train.  I have more, these are currently on the layout.

Wow, when I started reading this thread I thought it was Thursday, as everyday when your retired it’s always Saturday, but it’s Tail End Tuesday…. @Don McErlean, you did end it well and that’s a beautiful caboose…. Today, I’ll answer @coach joe, about the “P” in the top of the UP Caboose I posted the other day. It’s a G gauge caboose made by MTH, so, you can go to MTH for the answer. It’s huge. Happy Railroading Everyone

@leapinlarry posted:

Wow, when I started reading this thread I thought it was Thursday, as everyday when your retired it’s always Saturday, but it’s Tail End Tuesday…. @Don McErlean, you did end it well and that’s a beautiful caboose…. Today, I’ll answer @coach joe, about the “P” in the top of the UP Caboose I posted the other day. It’s a G gauge caboose made by MTH, so, you can go to MTH for the answer. It’s huge. Happy Railroading Everyone

Larry very nice collection! I cant wait to see what you have saved up for next Tuesday!

@leapinlarry posted:

..... Today, I’ll answer @coach joe, about the “P” in the top of the UP Caboose I posted the other day. It’s a G gauge caboose made by MTH, so, you can go to MTH for the answer. It’s huge. Happy Railroading Everyone

Not sure about it being huge, but the red P just means that caboose is in pool service.

Reminder to some of you guys....no deal making in the thread.  If you have something you want from another member and you have something another member wants, then contact them through their profile email or if you know how to PM them, that works too.  The for sale/trade and WTB forums are where deals are made here and not in regular threads.

@Don McErlean posted:

Well, I can't hardly believe that I am the first to post on this (rainy, cold) Thursday but I suppose anything is possible.  Today I have one of two cabooses that I have been seeking for some time.  I purchased a neat Lionel #247 B&O steamer about 6 mos ago at a train show and then realized I had no B&O caboose to match it with.  You would not think that B&O would be that hard to find, but for some reason it was illusive.  Finally just last week I acquired this Kline B&O caboose to run with my #247.  Now its a "Chessie System"  B&O which given the date of the formation of the Chessie System, I doubt that this caboose ever ran behind steam...but I am not that particular...Its B&O and that's good enough for me.

So here is my Kline #6110 Chessie System, B&O caboose from 1985.

Have a happy Tuesday everyone!  Best Wishes

Don

Don I wish I had known you needed a B&O caboose.  I have that very same one and have one more caboose than Chessie engines so I could have ended your search much sooner.

Two weeks ago Mel and I traded posts about Long Island Railroad bay window cabooses and Mel mentioned, LIRR had a home made shorty bay window No. C-80.  K-line produced a short bay window caboose in several road names including one LIRR caboose available in a set.  I recently acquired a short NYC bay window caboose in K-Line Plymouth Switcher set  K-1530.  Apparently the short bay window caboose that K-Line included n it's O gauge catalog was actually S-scale.  Here's my NYC shorty and a comparison with the MTH bay window I posted two weeks ago.

The NYC bay window does look good bringing up the rear of the Plymouth's three car train with a box car and a tank car.  The S-scale cars do not dwarf the little switcher which is probably why K-Line elected to go with the S-scale cars.

@coach joe,

The pictures I have of LIRR C-80 look like the length is about half way between your 2 models. It is absolutely non-standard - different than any other caboose I've seen. The bay starts at the roof and extends downward only to just below the bottom of the window. Overall, it looks more like the larger of your models.

MELGAR

My tail-end subject for this Tuesday is Boston & Maine Northeastern caboose C-124. The model is MTH 20-91064. It was delivered in August 2001 at MSRP $54.95 and is shown behind B&M Alco S-2 #1274 on my 10’-by-5’ layout with tail and interior lights on.

MELGAR

My tail End today is the back end of my Cab Forward.

CN caboose tail end today(by MTH).

GGD New Haven heavyweight observation "Flying Fish".

Walthers PRR heavyweight observation "Washington Hall".  This car was built by a true pro.  It even has fabric on the seats.

@GG1 4877 posted:

GGD New Haven heavyweight observation "Flying Fish".

Walthers PRR heavyweight observation "Washington Hall".  This car was built by a true pro.  It even has fabric on the seats.

Very nice Johnathan! Looks great and sounds expensive 😳

Here's my rear for this fine Tuesday!   A west bound Western Maryland freight train's caboose  passes a  MOW work crew as another train on the adjacent track approaches going east.

Lionel Burlington Northern #10240.  6-17625. Years Manufactured: 1999 was Lionels early attempt to match their competitor's detail. The separate handrails are oversized, but it was a step towards the detail we see today.

@mike g. posted:

Very nice Johnathan! Looks great and sounds expensive 😳

Mike,

I actually got the Walthers car for a very good price as part of an eight-car set at a swap meet in 2011.  It helps being one of only a few collectors of 2-rail trains in Arizona! All the cars from the set are posted in the PRR thread.   

Speaking of Walthers observation cars, I also picked up this one at auction with a baggage car and a coach.  I won't say anything about the accuracy of the color as the other cars are painted the same and lettered for the Southern Pacific.  A car of this size and configuration would normally be assigned to a division superintendent.  The quality of the build isn't quite as good, but these Walthers kits still hold their own even though they have been out of production since the early 1980's, and the kit designs didn't change a lot from prior to WWII.

@GG1 4877- Johnathan those are beautiful cars, although I had a hard time believing the NH actually named one of its cars...the "Flying Fish" and the effort and craftsmanship on the PRR observation is remarkable.  Thank you for posting.

Well, since Johnathan has dazzled us with some "new" craftsman like observation cars, I thought I would follow suit.  A long way from that level of workmanship but perhaps earning some points for longevity, I offer the Lionel #604 observation, which was a high end 0 gauge passenger set for Lionel in the era 1920-1925.  So going on 100 to 105 years old here is my #604.

Yes her paint is a bit "pock marked" as I expect the actual car looked near the end of its active life.  However #604 was 8 wheel with the relatively new "latch" couplers (introduced in 1924) , and she still has her original window inserts including white shades!

Note you can see two wires through the vestibule door opening. The 604 was available either with or without lights.  This car has them but they were an "add on" feature available as a buyer option.

I know that these old guys pale in comparison with the heavily detailed and scale cars (like Johathan posted) but put yourself in the place of a young person over a century ago, trains were "the" thing, high tech, spoke of adventure and travel...imagine opening a Christmas or Birthday present and getting your OWN train!! One that could take you wherever your imagination desired.  I suspect that the Thrill to that young person would be timeless and not too heavily dependent on the actual toy trains.

Best Wishes

Don

Pennsy Observation car leaving the station

New York Central SW8 diesel switcher #9620 headed a short freight train with two boxcars and NYC caboose #19877 at the tail end on Tuesday, February 25, 2025 - running on the O-36 inner loop of my 12’-by-8’ layout.

MELGAR

My Tale Ends for this Tuesday are two brakemen with their lanterns sending signals to the engineers.

Two CN tail ends today, an MTH in O & an Athearn in HO.  Natural weathering on the HO caboose!

Here's my rear for this fine Tuesday.  

For my tail end today, is a new MTH NYC caboose that arrived late last week.

Gene

Tail End of a fire rail crew putting out the fire at the PW Lionel switch tower.

Lionel Burlington Northern 10531

Here is the Lionel #253 electric in charge of a 3 unit passenger train consisting of 610 Pullmans and a 612 observation. Tail end view of train in honor of Tail End Tuesday!   All cars sporting the olive green body color and maroon trim.  The cars date from 1926-1930 with the olive green/maroon cars in the early part of that era.  The 253 electric is body painted to match and may also date to around 1926-28 but that date is uncertain.  The 253 came in a bewildering array of colors over a considerable period.  The 610/612 cars were rather large 8 widowed cars with interior bench's running the length of the car under the windows not seats and they had an interior light.  The came with 8 wheel trucks and nickel journals in this period.

Happy T.E.Tuesday everyone.  Weather in Texas from single digits last week and teens over the weekend  has become sunny and in mid to high 70's today!  Unbelievable these changes in weather.

Best Wishes

Don

RK from GN 6 car freight set.

Still ice and snow around here for this TAIL on 2/25/2025.....

This week's tail end is another view of my Walthers PRR observation car.  Excuse the fact that the truck has derailed!  Operator error.

From the same MTH Rail King Great Northern set as @Mark V. Spadaro's caboose.  This tender could also serve as the tail end of a wreck train.