Caboose question for MILW fans

[nkalanaga]

I have three of the new FVM cabooses.  I also model mid 1974.  The Morning Sun Books "Color Guide" says that the MILW started renumbering their cabooses from 0xxxx to 99xxxx in 1973, but they do have one unrenumbered picture from August of 1974.  I'm not worried about matching a particular number, so one of mine can stay.

The question  is, how fast did they renumber them?  Should I redo both of the others, just one, or neither?

As I only need one caboose for my interchange, I could also stash the other two as-is, but that would still leave the question for later.

[Dave Schneider]

I checked the Milwaukee Road rib side caboose book by Jeff Kehoe, and there is no precise information on when the renumbering was complete. As you know it began in 1973 due to the introduction of a computer program that didn't recognize the leading 0 in the number. For mid-1974 an unnumbered caboose would be the rare exception, rather than the rule.

Also starting in around (?) 1974, the caboose color changed to "Yellow Caboose", which was a brighter orange.
Here is an example with "Outside Enamel Orange" on the left (used for engines) and the Yellow Caboose on the right.


They also painted the ends a reflective yellow color, which would shine white at night when illuminated. Finally, a 1974 car would have very likely had an oil stove rather than a coal stove. This modification began in mid-1960s and resulted in modification to the carbody on the side opposite the side hatch door. You can see this beneath the window on the left side above the truck (a plate, a fuel filler, and vent).


The next version of the FVM cars are scheduled to have the modified car body and different paint job, but I thought I would mention them in case you were interested.
http://www.foxvalleymodels.com/images/2012Preview.jpg

Best wishes, Dave

[Sokramiketes]

That's interesting, I thought caboose yellow was used much earlier than 1974.

[Dave Schneider]

Mike,

That info was from the Kehoe book which stated  "the early 1970s" and tied it in with the yellow ends. A later photo shows the yellow ends circa 1974, and a Color Drift card with Yellow Caboose from the Milwaukee Modelers Yahoo group is dated December 1973. This seems to stick together, but none of it is definitive. I agree that earlier cabooses appear to be a lighter orange in some photos, but is that fading? Lighting? Hard to say for sure so I should have qualified my original point.



Best wishes, Dave

[nkalanaga]

Thank you!  Looking at that picture, they weren't too worried about neatness when they renumbered them, were they?  That will make the job easier.  Instead of having to replace the entire number, just match the font, and never mind keeping it centered.

I won't worry about the paint color, as my cars weren't necessarily newly painted, although I don't want them to look old and decrepit.  As for the stove, if any kept the coal stoves, mine would probably be among them, running on a (fictional) branch line, in local service, in central Montana.  I'll have to see about scraping together the money for a modern version.

For another question, did any of those "wagon wheel" antennas survive to the 70s? 

[CoalPorter]

Make sure to match the trucks too

[Dave Schneider]

For another question, did any of those "wagon wheel" antennas survive to the 70s?

According to the Kehoe book, the wagon wheel antennas were introduced on a few cars starting in 1947 and were on all of the 1951-built. Some of them survived until they were retired and there is a nice Mike Schaefer photo of one from May 1972. The 1951-built cars were different in that they had a vertical row of rivets along each side of the caboose and the ends, as well as an indent where the roof met the sides. They also had an under frame battery box and a truck mounted generator on the drop frame trucks.

Best wishes, Dave

[nkalanaga]

So, on the '39 and '46 cabooses, they may never had had the wagon wheels, and if they had them, they may have been gone by 1974?  Just as well, they look like a pain to build.

CoalPorter:  I'm not picky enough for that.  Whatever FVM puts on them will stay on them.  Somebody posted a picture of one recently that had both types of trucks, one type on one end, the other on the other end.  I'm not going to try to match that!