Atlas vs. Kato cabeese's.....

[coosvalley]

I am hoping someone here can tell me if the Kato cupola caboose is the same width as the Atlas Standard cupola caboose?, or the body of the Wide-vision?.....I need the cupola from the Kato, on the body of the Atlas, if they turn out to be the same width.....Can anyone here compare the 2 for me?..I don't have a Kato, but I do  have the Atlas..

[jimmo]

I got 9' 6" on both the Kato cupola and the Atlas International extended vision caboose body.

[jimmo]

BTW, Kato lists the caboose body (with cupola) as an available part for $15.00. Otherwise, a complete caboose goes for quite a lot more out there on the open market.

I spliced two of them together to make a more standard sized caboose. I might even have the extra one somewhere in my parts drawer. I'll check...

[jimmo]

I'll be darned, there it is right in the top drawer in plain sight. If you're interested, shoot me a PM.

I tried it out on one of my extended vision cabs. Since they are both Internationals, it fits into the same center slots. I looks like you will have some fiddling or filling to do to get it to fit all the way down on the body. Obviously if you are using an extended vision, you will have some filling on the sides where the ext vision was as well.

This cupola is undecorated brown plastic.

[coosvalley]

Thank you Very much!..this will make things much easier than cutting up the Atlas....!!!

[Wardie]

What caboose are you working on that merges Atlas and Kato parts? Just curious.

[coosvalley]

I am in the process of making 2 of the B&M short "branchline"cabooses...I think I will do one like the first photo, and one like the second photo with the old trucks still on it....I would love to do a "red end" version(last photo), but they all seem to have the window screens, which I don't think could be pulled off in N scale.....

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/11736/N012685GC.jpg

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/72209/1'24'74%20NY-20%20C-12;111%20Dover,NH.jpg

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/15210/0645.jpg

[Wardie]

I look forward to your results, am I correct you are going to shorten an Atlas body? I have a couple of the Kato cabooses to be painted and escaped and used as is for B&M cabooses on my layout. Since they will largely just be scenery in Rigby yard for me I decided the Kato was close enough.

[jmlaboda]

I hate to say it but those are not branchline cabooses... those were mainline cabs!!!  I first met these beauties when I was sent to Ayer, Mass., back in 1974 for Army training.  Spent many pleasurable days watching B&M's GP7s/GP9s/GP18s and Budd cars in and around Ayer as well as many regular trips by Budd to Boston and beyond.  These remain very fond memories these many years later!!!

[peteski]

Very interesting thread!  I could go for couple of these myself. Coosvalley: could you possibly document your conversion and post a how-to thread here?

[Bendtracker1]

I would love to do a "red end" version(last photo), but they all seem to have the window screens, which I don't think could be pulled off in N scale.....
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/15210/0645.jpg

Do you think something like this might work for the screens, or is it still too big?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/310347792907?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

If not, what about using teabags?

[peteski]

IMO, in N scale window screens is something is very difficult to model realistically.  As such, leaving if off the model might also be prototypical as the particular caboose might not always have had those screens.

the 80-mesh brass screen has 80 wires per inch. that works out to 2" screen in N scale. I don't know coarse the 1:1 screen was but I would imagine that it was less than 1"  So a 160-mesh screen might be better.   But the problem with the screen material is that the wire thickens in proportion to the open areas is way too thick.  So the amount of empty space between the wires is disproportionally small as compared to the 1:1 screen.  If you could find 160-mesh or 200-mesh screen made from a very thin wire, that might actually be workable.

[central.vermont]

Guess, I need to get working on this project again.  It stalled out on my bench because of a lot of other projects had more priority. I take it you are using the cupola from the Kato to get the widows right? I never thought to use theirs. I just modified the Atlas. Also you will need to change the steps on the Atlas caboose as I did. Step count was off by one.



By the way you can do the red ends without the Getto screens.

Jon

[bbussey]

What year was the prototype built and what did the original scheme look like?

[randgust]

Not sure if this helps or not, but on my Ce-3 project (local caboose) the window screening was very pronounced in photos, but only on the lower half of the windows.

Rather than trying to put some kind of screening over it I just did a very light wash of body-color paint over the lower half of the windows to get the visual effect of the screening.   It's kind of cheating but I think it works.

http://www.randgust.com/99962108.jpg

prototype:  http://www.hebners.net/caboose/atsf/ATSF999625b.jpg

You certainly can't discern mesh, you can discern the change in transparency and color, and it wouldn't look right without it, either.   Finding it fine enough is one problem but painting it without clogging it solid is another.