The Little Red Caboose

Ah, the humble caboose. Always a fixture on the end of freight trains for more than a century. For most of the 19th century and the first few years of the 20th, most cabooses was the home for the conductor, at least one brakeman, and occasionally a flagman. The purpose was to provide a sheltered vantage point from which these trainmen could watch the cars ahead, cook and eat their meals, and where the conductor could attack an always growing stack of paperwork. Before the era of the automatic air brakes, the engineer signaled by whistle when he needed to slow down or stop. The rear end brakeman's job was to climb over the moving train and make his way forward, turning brake wheels that rose above the car roofs. The head-end brakeman, riding the engine, would work his way rearward. They did this regardless of the weather. (How would you like to be the tallest thing on a train running through a thunderstorm?) When the train finally stopped, the flagman detrained from the caboose and walked back a prescribed distance to signal approaching trains that a stopped train was ahead. Once underway again, the caboose (or "rear end") crew would sit up in the cupola and watch for smoke from overheated wheel journals (called hotboxes) or other signs of trouble.

The name may have originated with a French or Dutch word. Originally describing a deck cabin on a sailing ship. However, railroaders, always masters of language, called it by dozens of slang names: 

Cabin car, crummy, shack, way car, brainbox, shanty, hack and of course....bobber.  

 Bobber is a generic term for any short four-wheel caboose. Many mainline and short line railroads operated similar four wheel cars around the turn of the 20th Century, as they were easy to build, cheap, and easy to maintain. The car got its name from the way it would "bob" and weave down the track. Its tracking was so atrocious that several states enacted laws prohibiting the use of bobber cabooses (although by then the railroads had already stopped buying them). By 1900 most railroads opted for a caboose with two trucks and eight wheels, much to the relief of their crew's spinal columns.

 

I've always had a fondness for bobbers. At this point I've collected six of them. Earlier this year, the Ebay store  "The Train Shop" released a really neat bobber caboose kit that I couldn't ignore. It was modeled after the the DSP&PRR (Denver South Park Pacific)'s 3 foot gauge waycars. The carbody, frame, and all parts are printed with a high quality 3D printer. The kit comes with a full interior, including benches, a coal stove, conductor's desk, coal bin and a coal scoop. For those who enjoy adding lighting to their models, there are holes strategically placed throughout the interior for wiring purposes. There's even a tiny pad and pin sitting on the desk!

The kit arrived very well packed (see, mummified) in plastic wrap. In fact, the only complaint I had was a fear that while ripping the tape off the wrap, I would break the delicate parts. However, careful planning and patience freed the kit from it's imprisonment.  

The parts were cleaned in isopropyl alcohol and rinsed with soapy water. Then, they were painted. I broke from my previous traditions and painted the car an classic red.  The interior provided so much fodder for fun decorating. Being the home away from home, I chose to make the car both a workplace, but with little touches of comfort. From a carpet on the floor (To which the conductor must raise an eyebrow whenever a brakeman plods his dirty shoes into his caboose) to drapes in the window over the conductor's desk. To some more...risque posters hanging on the wall. (1880s pin ups were so scandalous...her ankles are showing!) 

Once the car was painted and the interior pieced together, it took little to put the whole kit together with a few spots of glue. Snap some wheels and Kadee scale couplers in place. Then the car is pretty much a finished product. I did add some additional detailing. Such as the emergency chain hung on hooks on one side, and the air hoses. I also replaced the kit's brake-wheel with my preferred tichy substitute. 

The car embodies that neat whimsical look that I admire. As a kit, it was well designed, easy to put together, and the end result is magnificent. I highly recommend this car to anyone interested in 3D printed resin models.