I have a Southern RR drover type caboose
that is also lettered for railway express…
Did these caboose do triple duty, for railway express, the regular train crew and for drovers?
Jarrell
They did whatever duty they were needed for. Railway Express Agency, U. S. Mail, Drover, regular caboose, etc.
I’m not aware of Southern RR’s practices on the use of such a caboose. Nevertheless, it probably was designed to provide passenger and express service on an otherwise-freight train (a mixed train), most likely for branchline service. A drover’s caboose wouldn’t be used in passenger service but to provide a place for the cowboys accompanying a shipment of livestock. Such cars served also as cabooses during such use.
Mark
With those markings, I suspect it was assigned to a low-traffic branch that ran one mixed train a day. That single car had to do all the jobs of a regular passenger train, plus provide the usual rolling office for the freight business.
I also suspect that the train vanished (or became all freight) as soon as the county paved the more-or-less parallel road.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - including mixed trains)
Is there a prototype for that model?
Not for the Southern. They did have some side door cabooses, but nothing like this.
Doesn’t mean your Southern can’t have it.
If its a “drover” caboose, then its probably NOT carrying express. Cattle trains weren’t regular trains and express service is regular service.
If its a mixed train caboose, then it is within the realm of possibility that it carried express since they operated on a regular basis.
I’m far from an expert on the Southern, but I doubt they painted any cabooses in their streamliner-era green and white paint scheme. Painting cabooses the same color as your diesels didn’t become common until the sixties, and I can’t recall seeing any pics of a Southern caboose in this scheme.
The idea of a railroad converting an old drover’s caboose to use on a mixed train on a rural branchline is feasible though it doesn’t sound like the Southern actually did it. There were some areas in Wisconsin where the Soo Line was required to offer passenger service by letting ticket buyers ride in the caboose into the 1980’s, but they were regular Soo cabooses not drover’s cabooses.
Maybe this is a fantasy caboose dreamed up by Roundhouse? [:D]
Oh well, my division of Southern runs it… [:-^]
Thanks for the info, guys!
Jarrell
I’m no expert either, but a quick web search on “southern railway cabooses” provided no evidence of such cabooses like the one modeled. The closest I came was http://www.hosam.com/srr/srrcabooses.html but the side-door style and window placements were not at all like the model.
It is a common practice of mass producers of model trains to paint and letter rolling stock and locomotives for non-existent prototypes. It is difficult to avoid acquiring such models if such things bother you, but making use of the various railroad historical societies and their members is probably the single best way.
Still, it is your Southern Railway.
Mark
Here is a model photo of a prototype caboose purposely modified for branchline passenger service.
Jarrell–
Yes, it is somewhat of a ‘fantasy’ caboose by Roundhouse. They did this caboose also in the Rio Grande “Bumblebee” colors (I’ve got one) and among other railroads, the Virginia and Truckee. I think they’re really kind of clever, myself. I run my Rio Grande model behind my stock train occasionally, and it looks really neat.
Tom [:)]
MDC / Roundhouse did some…well “creative” things with their cars over the years. Being an iron ore modeller (and using many MDC ore cars), the one I never understood involved the DM&IR. Their three-window woodside caboose was pretty close to a Missabe caboose - paint it yellow with black roof and correct lettering and it would look good. However, instead they only offered a center-cupola “eastern” steel caboose lettered for the Missabe. [D)]
About 20 years ago, they contacted the Missabe Road Historical Society about decorating the MDC ore cars for the Missabe. The MRHS suggested using brown with white lettering, the standard lettering from the 1930’s to 1970’s. Nope, MDC decided to use yellow lettering which wasn’t used until the 1980’s, rendering the cars useless for anybody modelling the transition era or even the 1960’s-70’s. [:(!]
Under Athearn it’s seems they’re a bit more accurate.