Lowering MT and Athearn/MDC cabooses and Overton cars

[bbussey]

@bbussey , thank you for the photograph.  It looks like those trucks are the way to do it.

I looked on the Fox Valley website.  The only N scale caboose trucks that I see are:

CMStP&P "straight" caboose truck.
CMStP&P "drop center" caboose truck
B&O caboose truck (for the waggontops, I assume)

Is it one of those three?  I did not see any other N scale caboose trucks.  I did try the search function.  Did I miss something?


Nice job on that NYNH&H caboose.

Yes, they are the B&O Wagontop caboose trucks.

I did not check any of my RTR models, but B&O typically ran its caboose on 33" wheels, not 28" wheels. So there is a few scale inches to play with, for better or worse.

I wasn’t aware of any cabooses that ran on 28” wheels. All NH cabooses ran on 33” wheels. Only some of the NH depressed center flatcars ran on 28” wheels.

[Maletrain]

Yes, they are the B&O Wagontop caboose trucks.

I wasn’t aware of any cabooses that ran on 28” wheels. All NH cabooses ran on 33” wheels. Only some of the NH depressed center flatcars ran on 28” wheels.

   You are apparently right.  Somewhere I got the impression that the "caboose" model trucks were sold with 28 scale inch wheels.  But I don't see that listed now from any vendor.  My memory was that at least the Kato electric pickup trucks were 28 scale inches, but I just measured some, and they are 0.203" = 32.45 scale inches.

I guess I am getting to the age where it is "Live and relearn" what somehow got shuffled in the well worn deck.

BTW, I did run across one scale drawing of a B&O caboose inherited from a purchased railroad that had 36" wheels.

[brokemoto]

Thank you, @bbussey .  I shall be sure to order some immediately.

I did run across one scale drawing of a B&O caboose inherited from a purchased railroad that had 36" wheels.

The Arnold four wheel caboose is based on one that B&O inherited from a swallowed road.  There only were two or three of them.  Sadly, no one sells late nineteenth/early twentieth century B&O decals.  I have one of those cabooses (besides the Arnold boom tender that has the shell planted onto a forty foot flat car).  They are not easy to find.  I found mine in a junk pile at a train show.  The guy wanted four bananas for it.  I paid him quickly before he could change his mind or someone else saw it in my hand and offered him more for it.   Never have I seen one come up on FeePay.

[ncbqguy]

Panamint Models on Shapeways has replacement underframes with either stairsteps or side step castings for both the Arnold Rapido Bobber and Bachmann Bobbers.   I've not used them but am very satisfied with their CB&Q No.7 and No.2 wood beam waycar and passenger car trucks.  They are very accurate models of the prototypes and roll very well.  And, to topic, work nicely on the MDC/Athearn Overton/Caboose and MicroTrains Caboose underframes.   These style of trucks were widely used (ATSF, MP, UP, SP, NYC, CB&Q and many others) on cabooses and wood passenger cars, many lasting the entire life of the cars.  On the CB&Q these lasted almost to the BNSF era with the genealogy of some individual cars stretching over 100 years (although how many pieces of wood were original like George Washington's axe...the handle and the head were replaced several times but it was still his axe!!).
Charlie Vlk