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

[coosvalley]

Bryan-These cars ,as far as I can tell, were originally wooden bodied, steel-floored cars built in Laconia NH, models of these were made by North Country Models.....At some point,they were fitted with the steel bodies(kits maybe?), and later the trucks were replaced with more typical "caboose" trucks...

Jon- thanks for chiming in, it was your project that inspired mine, I finally got some undec. Atlas caboose's for this project!..When we last spoke about this project, it was 2011!.. So we've both been slacking!...Yes, the use of the Kato cupola is for the factory windows, I am terrible at making windows!...Also, thanks for the pic, all the pics I founds had red ends and screens...

I will show my progress as it happens....

[randgust]

Did Guilford/Pan Am keep any of these around as 'shoving platforms'?

Those cabooses that have survived in that service often get weathering jobs that would challenge Tom Mann, let alone all the tagging.

[jbcz]

I used Jon's start at a Laconia rebuild as inspiration to build this B&M caboose.  It was a pretty simple rebuild of the Atlas cupola caboose.  Excuse the trucks, they are simply the Atlas caboose trucks.

[bbussey]

Bryan-These cars ,as far as I can tell, were originally wooden bodied, steel-floored cars built in Laconia NH, models of these were made by North Country Models.....At some point,they were fitted with the steel bodies(kits maybe?), and later the trucks were replaced with more typical "caboose" trucks...

The refit date is the key.  If it was pre-1957, I might build one.

[jmlaboda]

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

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.

I want to apologize ahead of time for what I am about to say about how to do screening... I don't mean to be quite so brutal but it is how I feel about it...

I have seen for decades folks using various sizes of screening on their model (you pick the scale) only to ruin the looks of the windows by using such screening.  I have seen some really fine models otherwise ruined because the screen is too heavy to give a proper appearance but bit my tongue instead of speaking how I felt about the use of screen because I didn't want to hurt the feelings.

For a long time I have had the same idea as randgust in tinting clear coat and using it to represent screen.  In my modeled era a local shortline affiliate of the Southern Railway, the Carolina & Northwestern, fitted screening to a number of their wood cabooses, possibly done by the conductor who was assigned a specific cab rather than the road itself, including screen doors for the ends.  While not really standing out the screens were, never the less, discernible, making them something that I believe should be done on models as well.  The overall effect is quite nice when tinting is done rather than screens and would really make any model, buildings, etc., not just cabs, "pop" in their visual impact... rangust's ATSF cab is proof of that.

The refit date is the key.  If it was pre-1957, I might build one.

Bryan, James B. VanBokkelen's Boston & Maine website has a wealth of information including information on many of the various B&M cabs that the road used.  He lists the Morrison - International cabs (was M-I before being renamed International Car Co.), built from the Laconia wood cabooses being built as follows:

C100 - C137  1959  Re# to C51 - C87 in 1975
C150 - C169  transfer cabs (no cupola) 1960

[jbcz]

I believe that the cabooses were 1959 rebuilds from International Car.  They had original underframes thus they could not be used in interchange service - see the unofficial B&M Society web site for more info.

[bbussey]

C100 - C137  1959  Re# to C51 - C87 in 1975
C150 - C169  transfer cabs (no cupola) 1960

I believe that the cabooses were 1959 rebuilds from International Car.  They had original underframes thus they could not be used in interchange service - see the unofficial B&M Society web site for more info.

Ah.  Too late for me then, unfortunately.

[central.vermont]

Bryan,

Here's a shot fresh out of the paint shop.

Jon

http://www.n-scaler.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10003/105777505TYZJfG_ph.jpg

[bbussey]

Looks great, but 1959 (and McGinnis B&M) would be stretching the boundaries for me.

[jmlaboda]

Looks great, but 1959 (and McGinnis B&M) would be stretching the boundaries for me.

You are pretty well stuck with the various other cabs that B&M had, though the Laconia wood center cupola is my favorite among them... I have one by Robert that I have yet to build but eventually I will get it done, hopefully with more yet being bought, somewhere.  My roads will only have a token number of steel cabs in use, which will be one of the Magor cabs by Atlas but with a slightly wider cupola (from a NE caboose) like what was on the Norfolk Southern Magor cabs (don't need all the extra space since crews would not need to live in theirs like on some roads).  Now the DL&W wood cab... some interest there but need to find shots of some of these cabs heavily weathered, since those staged on my lines will be purchased used to replace older, truss rod cabs on shortline affiliates.

[central.vermont]

................and for those that would like to know what the"Laconia Cars" looked like before the rebuild.

Jon

http://www.n-scaler.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10003/104605.jpeg

[coosvalley]

I have one by Robert that I have yet to build but eventually I will get it done, hopefully with more yet being bought, somewhere. 

Good luck!..I recently watched one of the narrow monitor buggies go for over 100 $ on the bay!.....These kits were a lots of fun to build,...I wish I had grabbed more of them ...here are mine....

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/63988/MB%20C35%20W.jpg

[peteski]

These look a bit clunky to me.  They look like a but toyish G-scale models. I see that it is not the builders fault - the parts seem chunky.

But if they are the only game in town...

[bbussey]

................and for those that would like to know what the"Laconia Cars" looked like before the rebuild.

Jon

http://www.n-scaler.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10003/104605.jpeg

Similar to the New Haven NE class.

It would have been nice to have one, but it's not a necessity for me.  I have plenty of New Haven prototypes that I have to focus on eventually.

[coosvalley]

I'd like to thank forum members Central.Vermont and Jimmo,.Their help has made these cabeese possible....So, here are some in-progress shots...

Basically, I removed a chunk the same size as the original cupola, then removed a chunk of roof for the new cupola...make sure you brace the walls inside the caboose before removing the chunk of roof..Not sure if i will mess with the steps, Maybe Central.Vermont will tell us how he made his "steps on a stick"? ..I have also removed all molded on grabs and drilled holes for replacement with wire grabs..Now on to filling the body with some sort of filler, Im not a big fan of squadron green putty,(mine is dried out)....... any ideas?