A Standard Caboose Design?

Ever since day one, the Arizona Southern has used many different "hand me down" cabooses. No other way to say it, but the caboose fleet is a tad eclectic. Half the fleet never leaves home rails because they are partly made of wood and the crews seem to think these cars stay a little cooler in the summer months. These cars have all the modern updates, new all steel underframes and even roller bearing trucks, after all it is 1976 and our employees are like family.

Well never being one to be enslaved to tradition, thoughts of a more modern steel car were brought forth at a recent meeting of the peanut gallery; aka the most recent directors meeting. The idea was a sound one so it was investigated further. As luck would have it, our good friends at the Southern Pacific had a couple of their standard C-40-4's available for purchase at bargain basement pricing due to some minor wreck damage, so the Arizona Southern purchased these and embarked on a total overhaul program. Soon we will have roadworthy steel cars we can use in interchange service as well as the caboose pool.

For some reason, when Athearn made their baywindow car, they made the roof overhang a little bit short of the SP car prototype they chose to model. This is easily remedied, and so here is an in progress image of one car having the roof corrected. On our railroad, shade is king, and we are always looking to make sure that necessity is never skimped on.

The ends need to be filed and sanded to shape in this image, which by the time you are reading this will be done and the car in the paint shop (hopefully). The original roof ends had to be sanded straight so the new extension would be level and plumb, not too hard, but easily screwed up if you are not careful. Prep is everything.

More will be reported as time permits, but right now there are just too many irons in the fire so this project in not a top priority. That plus my mind wanders and often decides it needs to take a break from one project and then begin something else. Once in a while we even finish up a program. I'm as shocked as you are about this eventuality.

Oh, if any of you are saying to themselves, "why did he leave the cast on side grabs on?" have no fear, look at this car and tell me it's obvious that the stock grabs need changing. My friend Mark made the C-40-4 model, and I used my phone to grab this photo. One only needs patience and proper tools.

I figure if proper weathering a steady hand applying the safety paint can be used, why complicate something that won't really be noticed on a working freight train? I'm not looking to enter a contest, just have a convincing caboose model at normal viewing distances.

Bye for now.

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