I saw a photo of a very unusual caboose - I THINK it was a model, and if it was, both the model and the photo were excellent. It had an extended view cupola, AND bay windows. Is there such an animal in the real world? What would be the purpose for combining these features into one caboose?
Perhaps to assure us that goofyness is alive and well, or maybe it was an experiment to help determine the pluses and minuses of each design.
Mark
Penn Central operated cupola cabooses with small bay windows. Of course Penn Central had a couple of everything.]
Some railroads (C&NW for example) blanked out the windows of some of their cupola cabooses and didn't let the crews sit up there for safety reasons (and so they didn't have to replace the glass with safety glass). I suppose they might add bay windows to such a caboose, but not get around to removing the cupola for a while.
Any link to the pic??
Chicago Great Western had wooden cabooses with extended cupola's and bay windows, in an earlier period, they also sported vestibules.
Dave
wjstix Some railroads (C&NW for example) blanked out the windows of some of their cupola cabooses and didn't let the crews sit up there for safety reasons (and so they didn't have to replace the glass with safety glass). I suppose they might add bay windows to such a caboose, but not get around to removing the cupola for a while.
But cabooses with cupolas whose sides extended beyond the car body were the latest in caboose design.
I"m afraid not. About the time I came across the picture we got word of a death in the family we had to deal with. By the time I could get back to it I had lost where I saw it. The caboose had a "full-sized" bay window and the cupola extended about half way over the bay roof. The design was well thought out, as though it were originally built that way. The windows in the cupola looked "intact".
The first thought I came up was that perhaps two or more conductors used the car, each with a strong belief in one style or the other; but I seriously doubt a railroad would spend that kind of money to placate employees. The second thought was that it might have been someone's attempt at a private car that was more affordable than a Pullman referb. But then as Mark pointed out, it could have been a modeler's flight of fancy.
Great pictures! Is the Frisco still around and if so, where? It would be interesting to see.
Thanks. - Bob -
The CGW examples were pre twenties, so the extended/bay design is not so recent. They had unique enclosed vestibules when built, if I recall correctly, this feature was dropped during production and later removed from all examples.
I could understand blanking a cupola for a caboose downgraded to transfer service, I too could understand it being done in the interest of crew safety, slack action could toss a person out of their seat. Also it was not uncommon to be taken under fire, cupolas made fantastic targets.
An aside: When possible, we avoided the runs where SP embeded a caboose midtrain-this was done so high value loads could be monitered, more then likely open auto racks, there were several cases of the caboose stringing on reverse curves, very messy for all involved.
AIRC The Missouri Pacific had cabooses with both a cupola and a bay window.I don't know if the cupola was extended vision or not.
Although a model pic, this is what I was thinking of re the CNW cabooses with blanked out cupola windows. I've seen pics of these in service as cabooses (i.e. not more recent "shoving platforms").
I think these are the CGW cabooses someone alluded to....
Illinois Central had some cabooses with small side doors, could it be some of them had the side door replaced with a bay window?? I think some states outlawed side-doors on cabooses....
Saw this one last week near Pittsburgh:
Wayne
Never heard of side doors being outlawed, I know the the California Public Utilities Comission issued a edict banning operation of all wooden cabooses in 1963, I doubt it was ever complied with, or if enacted, enforced, we had many a wooden caboose active well past 1963. The posted CGW photo depicts one that has had the bays removed, orginally, the bays would have been incorporated into the extensions.
Those ICG examples have always appealed to me, they have that "just right" look.
West Coast S Never heard of side doors being outlawed, I know the the California Public Utilities Comission issued a edict banning operation of all wooden cabooses in 1963, I doubt it was ever complied with, or if enacted, enforced, we had many a wooden caboose active well past 1963.
Never heard of side doors being outlawed, I know the the California Public Utilities Comission issued a edict banning operation of all wooden cabooses in 1963, I doubt it was ever complied with, or if enacted, enforced, we had many a wooden caboose active well past 1963.
SP's all-wooden C-30-1 cabooses were built from 1917 to 1918. The wood-sheathed, metal framed C-30-2 and C-30-3 cabooses were built from 1928 to 1930, and an unknown-to-me-proportion of the C-30-1 fleet was upgraded with steel underframes.
It's unlikely that the cabooses were outlawed because of the wood sheathing. Steel underframes were required on cars built after Jan. 1, 1927, or re-built after July 1, 1928. In 1940, all-wood underframes, including steel-girthed centre sills were prohibited in interchange after Jan. 1, although cars with composite (wood and steel) underframes and truss rods were still allowed. Composite underframes were finally outlawed for interchange service on Jan. 1, 1952.
Wayne, may I add that cabooses typically weren't interchanged?
Good point, Mark. I couldn't find any info referring specifically to cabooses, but I suspect that the operating unions probably lobbied for steel underframes on cabooses - as trains grew in length and tonnage, and helper locos became more powerful, wooden frames just weren't up to the stresses involved. Some roads opted for steel underframes on cabooses, while others kept their wood-framed ones, but placed pusher locos between the train and the caboose.