I’ve found a picture of this car, but I can’t find any dimensional data. I’m modelling the IC from 1950-1960. The last of these cars were scrapped in 1966. From the picture I’ve found it looks like a 30’ steel underframe wood caboose without a side door 9001 thru 9450. It looks ike they just removed the cupola and installed baggage doors in the third of the car where the cupola was. I can’t find any dimensional data anywhere though.
I want to build one kitbashing the American Model Builders CBO&Q 30’ side door way car but I want to get it right. Any ideas on where to find the info? I’ve already been to the IC historical society and every place on the web I can find.
I’m just getting back into the hobby, I’ve been away since 1979. Funny, when I was modelling before, I wanted current equipment and most of what was readily available was steam era stuff, now I want to model the transition era, and I have to wade through stacks of modern equipment…
The conversion looks pretty straight forward, I’ll have to chop up the side pieces to get the big doors and the windows in the right place and fabricate a new roof.
Any other help with IC info would be greatly appreciated.
You’ve finally found the right place to ask, and the right person. Not only do I model the NKP (see my tag below) but I’m a HUGE IC fan and have a LOT of data on the road during the steam era (diesels? What the heck are those?). My in-progress home layout will focus on the interchanging between these two roads in central Illinois, specifically Gibson City and Bloomington.
I’ve been meaning to model the 9680-series baggage cabooses for some time now, as I and several other Bloomington modelers need them to accurately represent IC trains in the area. Because of this, I’ve accumulated as much data on them as I can, which still isn’t much. That one photo of 9680 that you found on the Fallen Flags website is ALL there is online!
As to modeling the cabooses, don’t bother with converting the AMB/Q connection CB&Q side door waycar. The car body is too long, too height-challenged (short), the side door is too close to the end of the carbody, the windows are all wrong, and the underframe is completely wrong.
The IC 9680-9685 and 9687-9689 were nine “baggage cabooses” that the IC built in 1940 to provide ICC-mandated passenger service to branchlines. The IC formally dropped all passenger service on most of their branchlines in 1938-1939, but had to provide some sort of passenger accomodations for local travellers as mandated by the Federal Government. These “cabbages” were tacked onto the front of local freights, and provided up to six bench seats from old coaches for passengers. The baggage door was installed to provide for the MUCH more profitable LCL traffic online. These cars were NOT really cabooses, since train conductors rarely if ever rode in them. A local train would have a cabbage in front with a LCL freight agend aboard, and the rear of the train would have the caboose (ALWAYS a wood side door; the steel side door cabs didn’t make it to branchlines until the end of steam and LCL traffic after 1960)
Hi Ray, thanks for all the good information. I’ll get an email out to you. I was unaware that those cars ran on the front of the train, that makes them even more interesting. I may need to build a couple.
I had planned on cutting the AMB sides into sections so that I could get the windows and doors where they needed to be. I think your idea of a scratchbuild might be better. Do you know of an online hobby shop that has the AMB endrail jig? I live 65 miles (but right on the old IC Champaign District North/South mainline) from the nearest full service hobby shop, so online and mail order is the only practical way for me to get kits and parts.