So let me get this right. If I may. Their are only a limited amount of pre-ww2 cabeese available on the market. And those are somewhat limited. Woodlice cabeese are even more rare. And with every railroad having different cabeese, to make a standard would be difficult. Uh. Wait.. Don't we already have that with steam engines. Freight cars, passenger cars, and a plethora of many other models in MRR'ing? So what's up with that? Surely their is someone out their willing to make more options in the rtr market. I imagine I could spend hours making one but I really don't want to take the time needed when their is so much more to do...
That is why when the wood caboose kits came out in the GN 25 foot version I jumped on them because they were right for both GN and SP&S and with a slight modification I also had a bay window out of one that ended up correct for SP&S. I think the folks out there must believe everyone models the modern era when it is far from it.
A more complete Southern baywindow caboose roster, for the "4 DIGIT" cabs, can be found on the Southern Modeler website in the Southern baywindow cabooses - as built clinic held by Bob Harpe. This clinic, while dealing with the WrightTRAK® HO resin model, does present some ideas on how to replicate details, even in N. For windows you might want to consider windows from the Fox Valley Milwaukee Road caboose, which are of similar size. While you would have to cut them out with a little bit of the sides included to create the framing, it should be possible with some work to make them fit for modeling an early Southern baywindow caboose. The roster is listed below (but does not include the "round roof" baywindow cabs that were built first, from stock cars)... CRN X25 – X35 SOU X3079 – X3198, X3201 – X3313 CNO&TP X5141 – X5170 AGS X6054 – X6068 NO&NE X6887 – X6903 GS&F X8543 – X8557 Also included in this file are information on Southern baywindow cabs that went on to serve on other roads, including Georgia & Florida, Indianapolis Union, Penn Central, Conrail (ex-IU and ex-PC cabs) and Tennessee Alabama & Georgia, among some other Southern subsidiaries. As well as the Chicago & Eastern Illinois (5 cabs, later went to MoPac) and Missouri Pacific, which had a slightly larger end platform arrangement but the Atlas cab as is would suffice.
Steam-era cabooses, recent experience. I've had an old old early N-scale caboose for years & years, bought 2nd or 3rd hand ages ago. Early model, and steam-era wood-side proto. It was lettered A.T.& S.F. I knew from my huge Santa Fe caboose book it wasn't really Santa Fe. Tried on some model Rr sites to find out what it might be. Turned out to resemble an early-20th century UP wood caboose. Couldn't find any current models like it. Older tooling, clunky, hard to replace Arnold Rapido trucks- but with so many UP steam locos out there, I would think someone might take it to repaint, letter, fix couplers and get something at least vaguely like a UP steam-era tender. Put it on the "bay" for 7 or 8 dollars. No takers. Dropped to 3 or 4 bucks. Still nobody interested. I tossed it back in my box of cars I don't know what to do with. Not interested in modeling UP. Maybe if I do all my other hanging-up projects, I might do it up as a generic fictitious-railroad caboose for movie filming train service. I even have a prototype fictitious-railroad name I could use. I have an Association of American Railroads educational book ca 1950 with lots of train pictures, but to keep from featuring any one real railroad in a picture and offending another member railroad, they retouched all recognizable railroad company names off of pictures and lettered them something like "East and West RR." So that can be my "prototype fictitious-railroad name."
Anyone tried American Model Builders' Laserkit wood cabooses? They list Great Northern, Norfolk and Western, Nickel Plate, and Northern Pacific kits. Not cheap, but neither are the locomotives.
