Hello All, I was wondering if any one could assist me with the color of the first steel bay window cabooses. And what markings would they have had? I want to represent one in N-Scale. I have had a bear of a time finding any thing on the net.Is there a web site that would show these cars in the mid to late '50s? Thanks in advance, Wolf
I think the photo at www.wplives.org is correct. It is from the first series, I can't swear the paint is correctbut why wouldn't they do it right?
I'm inclined to agree, but I think the colors are right. Maybe www.cencalrails.railfan.net has an earlier paintscheme.
Hi Wolf, The brown caboose at the WP lives web page is restored to the as delivered paint scheme. That paint scheme was pretty much used till 1974 or so when the first red cabooses were delivered, IIRC. I have pictures of both paint schemes if you accept attachments. Greg
Hi Greg, Thanks for the info. Yup, I'll accept an attachment. That would be great. Have a good one, Wolf
I haven't visited TB for awhile so forgive me for missing this thread until now. I can definitely be of help here since I'm currently writing a book on WP cabooses, a subject that has been somewhat of an obsession for me for as long as I can remember. http://www.wpcaboosebook.com The 1955-56 built steel bay window cars, commonly referred to as the 426 series, were originally box car red with yellow lettering and safety appliances and black trucks and roof. The 428 at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola isn't an exact match for the original paint scheme but closely matches some of the early WP repaints of this series. On the early box car red repaints, the trucks were also black even though the roofs were left box car red. Also, as-delivered the 426 series cars had a couple small "IRC" (International Railway Car Co.) logos stenciled on each end. Also on the ends, above each horizontal grab iron over the end windows, there is a 8" square piece of red Scotchlite reflective vinyl. You could just use a small square piece of red decal to simulate it. Feel free to contact me through the above referenced web site if you need additional information or have specific questions. I gave a presentation on these cars at the last Western Pacific Historical Society convention this past April in Sacramento and I have a PDF of the handout that I can send to anyone interested in it. Cheers! Mike Mucklin Western Pacific Caboose Cars http://www.wpcaboosebook.com
