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I bought this little caboose about ten years ago to convert into a snowplow. An AristoCraft snowplow was purchased a few years later, sidelining the original intentions for the car. I needed a caboose to complete the train of tip bucket ore cars I finished recently, so I got the caboose out to see whether it would fit this need.
The caboose looked good, but not too imposing with the ore cars. I thought it would look better as a 4 axle car. I mentioned yesterday in the Public Forum that I hit several "speed bumps" with this project. The first speed bump was in the form of the Bachmann arch bar trucks I had originally bought for the snowplow project ten years ago. They were way too long. I ended up using the last pair of a group of Lionel LS archbar trucks I had bought from TOC several years ago.
This is how the manufacturer intended the caboose to appear:
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I still have some DioSol left from Heaven knows when. A small amount of DioSol on a rag takes the stamped-on graphics right off the carbody. I don't know what I will use once that DioSol is gone.
I had to disassemble the caboose. I used 3/8 X 3/8 inch basswood to fabricate a semi-carframe and bolster for each truck. The brake staffs had European style cranks. I cut them off and married the shaft to a USA Trains brake wheel using short pieces of aluminum tubing sized to just fit over the brake shaft. In the closing paragraphs below, I have a description and illustrations showing how I convert the European vacuum brake hose to look like a North American air brake hose.
The single buffers were another speed bump. No matter how hard I tried, I could not remove them without cutting a shallow "V" into the end beams. Fortunately, I had some Squadron Green body putty to correct that error.
Then there were the decals. The Decals!! Where were they? I had put them away about a year ago, "in a safe place." Right now it is so safe that even I can't find them. Another Speed Bump! For the moment, cut up graphics from my "railroad pass" cards will have to serve.
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Someday when I am frantically looking for something else I will find my decals.
I'm pleased with the caboose's propertions. I regret that the photos got somewhat bleached-out. I don't have a way to suppress the flash on my digital camera, and the light had become too soft by the time I was ready to shoot. You can still get the idea, but I wish I could have suppressed that flash.
Side view:
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End view:
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How to make air brake hoses from European vacuum brake hoses: First cut the vacuum hose as shown.
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Discard all but the curved hose section. I use Plastruct plastic coated wire to fabricate the anglecock lever. I drill a hole into the block near the mounting plug using a pin vise, dip the coated wire in some Walthers Goo, and press it into the hole.
![]()
Once the "metal" parts of the air brake hose are painted a steel color, it is ready to mount back on the car. I press it into the uppermost of the two mounting holes. Of course, it's now mounted "upside down."
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Have fun,
David Meashey
The caboose looked good, but not too imposing with the ore cars. I thought it would look better as a 4 axle car. I mentioned yesterday in the Public Forum that I hit several "speed bumps" with this project. The first speed bump was in the form of the Bachmann arch bar trucks I had originally bought for the snowplow project ten years ago. They were way too long. I ended up using the last pair of a group of Lionel LS archbar trucks I had bought from TOC several years ago.
This is how the manufacturer intended the caboose to appear:
I still have some DioSol left from Heaven knows when. A small amount of DioSol on a rag takes the stamped-on graphics right off the carbody. I don't know what I will use once that DioSol is gone.
I had to disassemble the caboose. I used 3/8 X 3/8 inch basswood to fabricate a semi-carframe and bolster for each truck. The brake staffs had European style cranks. I cut them off and married the shaft to a USA Trains brake wheel using short pieces of aluminum tubing sized to just fit over the brake shaft. In the closing paragraphs below, I have a description and illustrations showing how I convert the European vacuum brake hose to look like a North American air brake hose.
The single buffers were another speed bump. No matter how hard I tried, I could not remove them without cutting a shallow "V" into the end beams. Fortunately, I had some Squadron Green body putty to correct that error.
Then there were the decals. The Decals!! Where were they? I had put them away about a year ago, "in a safe place." Right now it is so safe that even I can't find them. Another Speed Bump! For the moment, cut up graphics from my "railroad pass" cards will have to serve.
Someday when I am frantically looking for something else I will find my decals.
I'm pleased with the caboose's propertions. I regret that the photos got somewhat bleached-out. I don't have a way to suppress the flash on my digital camera, and the light had become too soft by the time I was ready to shoot. You can still get the idea, but I wish I could have suppressed that flash.
Side view:
End view:
How to make air brake hoses from European vacuum brake hoses: First cut the vacuum hose as shown.
Discard all but the curved hose section. I use Plastruct plastic coated wire to fabricate the anglecock lever. I drill a hole into the block near the mounting plug using a pin vise, dip the coated wire in some Walthers Goo, and press it into the hole.
Once the "metal" parts of the air brake hose are painted a steel color, it is ready to mount back on the car. I press it into the uppermost of the two mounting holes. Of course, it's now mounted "upside down."
Have fun,
David Meashey
