I can't quote all the sources from memory, or dig up a bunch of pictures real quick, but here some of what I know.
Longer cabooses were more common out west, and I have read it had to do with them needing to be more "self sufficent" at intermediate stops and longer runs.
Passenger/express trucks were moderately common as shown in the pictures above. Leaf springs were generally standard in regular freight trucks.
My freelanced ATLANTIC CENTRAL has some with "passenger" trucks.
Eastern roads favored the center cupola, although there are exceptions.
With or without outside influence, railroads in the mountains shifted to steel underframes and a steel cars pretty quickly to allow safe pushing. They simply moved the wood cars to divisions without grades.
The B&O was an early adopter of bay windows, not sure why.
Sheldon
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Here's a beauty, from the Library of Congress files:
MCRR_Caboose-1837 by Edmund, on Flickr
No date given with the negative but repack stencil shows West Detroit, January, 1911.
Note, no truss rods but evidence of diagonal truss stays (threaded rods in brackets along bottom sill).
I've seen those "extended" marker brackets on other NYC cabooses. There's the usual marker/flag brackets at the corners, too.
What are those sheet-iron "diamonds" on either side of the end door? An early high-visibility sign such as the B&O and others used as reflective attention getters?
Those wood-beam trucks look like they belong under a passenger car. Was that their original use? This car must have rode like a Pullman.
Handrails on both ends of the cupola indicate crews were still climbing out the windows to gain access to the roof walk. Love the hardware on the belly tool box.
Click the image to enlarge. I uploaded a huge photo.
Open to more comments
Cheers, Ed
I hope so, Ed. I thought the "tank car colors prior to 1950" thread lead to some good discussion...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
The PRR used hundreds of these four-wheel ND class "cabin" cars on the main line:
PRR_ND-tone by Edmund, on Flickr
The B&O was another road with at least 1,100 "bobbers" on the roster.
Much changed with the passing of a 1913 Ohio law (parts of it are still listed in the 2011 ORC) requiring cabooses to have a minimum of four axles and length of 24 feet. The PRR reassigned their bobbers to other states.
By the twenties, steel underframes became the norm as wood cars were subject to crushing if used ahead of pushers. Some states required the caboose to be moved behind the helper or the train crew had to ride the pusher.
In later years it seemed to make a difference by how much "pull" the train crews had with the railroad. Some cabooses were loaded with creature comforts including better riding trucks and lighting, refrigerators, better heaters and cushioned, high-back swivel seats while other roads only provided the bare required minimum.
This will be an interesting thread, Tom
Regards, Ed
Greetings,
I know over the course of their history cabooses came in a variety of lengths and shapes. As newer cabooses came along, older cabooses were either scrapped, rebuilt, or designated for different assignments.
Q: Generally speaking, did the length of a caboose ever dictate what kind of service it was used in - e.g. local vs branchline vs fast freight, etc?
For the NYC I've seen lengths of 24', 26', 30', 32', and 36'. I recently purchased an undecorated brass 24' NYC caboose. I was just curious what types of service one would or should expect for a caboose that length, or any of the other above lengths.
Thanks,