HO-scale Southern Railway modelers all know that it’s tough to model a Southern bay-window caboose! There are some resin kits that are pretty complicated, some brass models, and kitbashing an Athearn (or other) incorrect bay window model into something credible. I’ve been avoiding this project for years (both on this layout and my last) because I knew how much work it was going to be, and I had to be in the right mood. I’ve been working on this pair of Athearn kitbashes for about six months, and I will tell you it’s the most challenging modeling project I’ve ever completed!
The basic Athearn body, modeled on a Southern Pacific caboose, is within 6″ of the prototype in length, and the body is the right height, but that’s about where the similarities end. It needs windows to be added an enlarged, a completely new bay window, roof extension, porch reduction, truck lowering, and step recreation. In the case of these ’60s era cabs, it also needs a new roof. Once you’ve got all these modifications made, you’re about halfway done because the ends are crazy with complicated bar arrangements, a unique brakewheel bracket, ladders, and circular marker panels. When complete, this kitbash still has windows and length that are slightly off, and the truck spacing is a bit narrow, but it’s a pretty credible representation.
Most Southern fans are familiar with red cabooses, either the original red and gold scheme or the more modern red and block lettering scheme that made it to the NS merger. In the middle, during the Brosnan presidency of the Southern in the 1960s, cabooses were painted the same brown color as all the other Southern cars as a cost saving measure… the red paint wasn’t any more expensive, but Brosnan reasoned it saved the time of having to swap out paint colors in the shops. Needless to say, one of the first changes after Brosnan left was to reinstate the familiar red. Since I model the late ’60s (at least for my initial era), I needed at least two of these brown cabs.
Despite how much work they were, I’m really happy with how this pair turned out! These represent cabooses originally built in the ’40s, and each sports slightly different variations and modifications including different roof styles, blanked out windows, and variety on window sunshade use. I’ll also point out that the marker panels on the ends are functional, and either red or yellow can be displayed, like the prototype. I’m not sure if I’ll incorporate that into operations, but I probably will. Now that these are complete, I can finally run a complete train with accurate and weathered engines, hoppers, and now cabeese.
