Did the Philadelphia Bethlehem & New England (the railroad serving Bethlehem Steel mill) ever have a caboose? I've looked online and found a roster of their locomotives and pictures of their gons. Also found some pictures of a caboose from the Cambria & Indiana (a 'cousin' railroad in the Bethlehem Steel family). I guess it would depend if there was ever a need for a PB&NE train to leave the Beth Steel premises and venture out on common carrier trackage.
Thanks.
Atlas made one in O scale.
https://www.walthers.com/bay-window-caboose-2-rail-ready-to-run-trainman-r-philadelphia-bethlehem-new-england-pbne-yellow-black
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Henry,
Thanks. Saw this as I was scanning the i'net, but wasn't sure if they based it on a real prototype or not.
I looked at several pictures and videos of Beth St railroads and one of them was hauling a manifest freight. The end of the train was not visible.
In a pure steel mill operation, a caboose would be a liability.
The car in Atlas' drawing looks an awful lot like Southern Pacific's first steel bay windowed C-30-4 cabooses. The prototypes were built by American Car and Foundry in 1947, with 35, numbers 1235-1269 going to SP and T&NO getting 15 cars, numbers 500-514.
Would Atlas paint a car in a fictitious paint scheme? Look what they did with their C&O prototype "Trainman" steel, cupola caboose. Or, it seems far-fetched but, did PB&NE actually buy an SP caboose?
NHTXOr, it seems far-fetched but, did PB&NE actually buy an SP caboose? Add Quote to your Post
Patapsco & Back Rivers bought all their locos 2nd hand. If they actually used cabooses, I'm sure they would buy them 2nd hand.
I fully agree with the fact that secondhand equipment is a given for most smaller railroads. It just seems more logical that, if the PBNE did buy a second hand caboose, there were plenty of eastern roads that had them available. For instance, the Akron, Canton & Youngstown, Pittsburg (no "h") and Shawmut, and, the Raritan River, all bought second-hand NE-5 and, NE-6 cabooses from the New Haven. If Atlas had done their C&O caboose in O scale, would they have painted IT in PBNE? It would be more believable than an SP bay window.
If you want to ask people with more experience in this matter, you should join:
https://groups.io/g/STEEL
The people are very helpful.
PB&NE had real reporting marks. The railroad had rolling stock listed in the ORER.
Here's a map of the railroad:
That's a pretty small railroad. It interchanged with Lehigh Valley and Reading. I expect everywhere on that railroad was within yard limits. Hence there never was a train operated on the railroad, and a caboose would never be required. At the pleasure of the railroad, a caboose of some sort COULD have been used.
That no photo of such a caboose has turned up hints that there probably wasn't one.
Morning Sun has produced at least two books on this "neighborhood", just FULL of photos.
Ed
BigDaddyIn a pure steel mill operation, a caboose would be a liability.
The Union RR sees this differently. They're the in-plant company for the sprawling USS Mon Valley Works and they roster ten cabooses for long reverse moves from the interchange yards.
BigDaddy NHTX Or, it seems far-fetched but, did PB&NE actually buy an SP caboose? Add Quote to your Post Patapsco & Back Rivers bought all their locos 2nd hand. If they actually used cabooses, I'm sure they would buy them 2nd hand.
NHTX Or, it seems far-fetched but, did PB&NE actually buy an SP caboose? Add Quote to your Post
But he didn't ask about that railroad. We're talking about the Philadelphia, Bethlehem and New England (PBNE) not Patapsco & Back Rivers (PBR)
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
Keep in mind that the PB&NE is likely one of those Archie Manning Reading Combine roads prior to 1892, with plans to become a major line for the ABE steel traffic (hence those heavy bridges and civil work) but wound up a local operation in the aftermath.
SURELY someone has actual pictures of the equipment that was used. I agree it would most likely be bought used rather than new, and not likely pre-1892 in the era of interest... but I don't know.