I picked up a scratchbuilt Southern caboose today and would like to find out if this type of car could have lasted in service long enough to work with first generation SOU diesels.
Although photographed on Sweethome Chicago, I intend to collect enough locos and freight cars to backdate Sweethome Alabama to the 1940s/50s.
Thanks for any assistance,
Jon
A nice looking car but maybe the first question is, is it a Southern prototype, or a car the Southern acquired by merger way back, or a non-Southern car that someone painted and lettered (very nicely) into Southern colors? I was under the impression that true Southern cabooses had tender style steps, not these caboose style steps.
There is a Southern historical society and that might be the place to focus your inquiry.
Dave Nelson
The ICC outlawed the side door style cabooses, like this one, in 1911.
And yet the Illinois Central was building steel side door cabooses at least into the late 1950s and beyond. Was there some particular feature perhaps that the ICC outlawed? The doors on the IC cabooses were as a rule elevated above the floor line, for example, so I suppose a person could not just step out by accident. is that what the ICC outlawed?
Dave Nelson
The caption was below a pic of a side-door blind end (no platforms) caboose.
Maybe having platforms still allowed side doors like you describe.
I can think of several railroads that used “side door” cabooses well beyond 1911, T&P, MoPac, Santa Fe, IC, come to mind at the moment. MoPac and IC were using theirs into the 1960’s…
Mark
WGAS
I suspect it was the blind-end cars that were specifically targeted by the ICC, as the safety issue would I’d think involve getting on and off a moving car by the side door, and only having side doors limiting entry and exit in an emergency. I think “normal” cabooses with large side doors to allow unloading of parcels, express etc. were OK.
However some states banned side door cabooses I believe, so you might want to check Alabama statutes (which are probably available online). I think my state of Minnesota banned side-door cabooses (or at least side-door only cabooses) in 1909 or 1911, same time they banned cabooses with less than eight wheels, and banned narrow-gauge common carriers.
We are getting a bit OT from the original poster’s inquiry about when his model, painted and lettered Southern, would have run.
Here is a court case on Iowa law dealing with state law on caboose platforms.
http://ia.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19460917_0042055.IA.htm/qx
The Code of Federal Regulations issued by the Dept of Transportation continues to have different rules for caboose cars with and without end platforms. Old rules never die … nor do they fade away!
The rules for those without platforms are in Section 231.11, and you will see references to rule changes as of July 11, 1911. however the rules do refer, seem to allow, and impose requirements for side doors and side door handrails, on caboose cars without end platforms.
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2005/octqtr/pdf/49cfr231.11.pdf
Indeed some of the wording has hardly changed since this book was issued in 1919 covering the same rules:
This makes me wonder if some, but not all, side doors were outlawe
Thanks for all the help so far.
I joined the Southern Modellers Yahoo group and got some useful information from there. The general consensus was that the outside-braced wood caboose was not Southern at all, although it may have come into their possession through the assimilation of one of the many smaller Railroads within Sou’s territory.
One interesting point I learned about the side door was that cabooses which had a side door entry/exit, but no end door or verandah, were referred to as ‘suicide cabooses’ - railroaders’ morbid humour, perhaps.
Jon