I posted this on the Trains.com forum, but I’m not getting much response. It appears this forum has more traffic.
Hi, folks,
While on vacation I stumbled upon this rail car hidden in some brush. At first I thought it was a drover’s caboose, but there is no cupola. I’m at a loss. Can anyone else identify this car? I may can answer some questions regarding shape, size, observations, etc. Thanks for helping solve my little mystery.
Not all cabooses had cupolas, so it could be ( and looks like a Drover’s caboose, sans cupola)
Well the good news is that the car number still shows as MP1154. So it’s a Missouri Pacific car. I agree that it’s likely a drover caboose, but my opinion isn’t worth much. I suggest asking (with the car number info) over on one of the Missouri Pacific forums.
Check the MP Historical Society website. I did a quick look through their roster data but didn’t turn up anything.
They note several on-line forums specific to the MP:
http://www.mopac.org/mphs_OTW.asp
Or try here. The fallen-flag forum for the MP doesn’t get much traffic, but they monitor the posts and usually respond.
http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&f=217
Regards
Ed
I thought MoPac cabeese had five-digit numbers (at least after the 1960s-era renumberings), so I’m wondering whether the last digit is missing. Depending on the type of service the cabooses were used in, MP numbered its cabooses in the 11000 (yard service), 12000 (local service), or 13000 (mainline service) series, with the same final three digits.
On the other hand, the four-digit number looks like it’s properly centered under the reporting mark, so possibly something else is entering into this. Most MP cars were renumbered by 1970 or so, so this caboose may have been out of service for 35 years or more.
I’ve never seen a shot of an active MP drovers’ caboose, but this sure fits the bill. Note the brackets on the corners for marker lights–no question of what type of car it was.
True, but by the looks of this car it could well be out of service from back before the renumbering.
That is probably correct. But that would mean that the caboose has likely been in the weeds somewhere (not necessarily here–wherever “here” is) for 35 years or so.
I found the following photo in the MoPac section of the Fallen Flags web site. It looks real similar to your car, and they’re referring to it for transfer and yard service.
The car certainly is similar in appearance to the one shown in the above link which has several windows that have been sheathed over with steel. While these cars may have wound up as yard and/or transfer cabooses I think they probably were built for and originally used in some other service. My guess is they were part of either a wrecking or MOW train consist. Several things suggest this: 1) they are far longer than any transfer caboose I’ve ever seen, 2) the side doors would serve no purpose in caboose service, 3) the number and arrangement of windows and 4) the roof vent. You’ll notice the vent which is in addition to a smoke jack. I’m of the opinion that this was an exhaust vent for a gasoline powered generator which provided electricity for an arc welder and/or some basic machine tools such as a drill press, lathe, grinder, etc.
Mark
Looking around on the MPHS site, I found a picture in their modeler’s section. It"s a picture of a model of caboose MP 1113. The model appears to be of a steel car, with multiple windows on one end. It dosen’t have a side door and does have a cupola. The modelled car also appears to be a bit longer. I don’t know the era of the model, but the numbering suggests that the one in the weeds was a caboose.
The arrangement of windows and side door suggests to me it was used where mixed service was provided. In some places where passenger traffic didn’t warrant a separate passenger car, passengers would ride the caboose. Some railroads had cabooses outfitted with extra seats for this service. I think this caboose could’ve been one of those.
Jeff
Its a drover’s car. When the MP stopped hauling cattle they were put in service as cabooses. Since they didn’t have cupola’s or bay windows they went into local or transfer/yard service instead of road service. The N Little Rock Div. refurbished one as Safety Car (business car sorta). It was in Searcy, AR back in the 1990’s.
This car is located on a hillside near Harris Brake Lake, near Perryville, Arkansas. That would be about 40 miles west of Little Rock. The Rock Island track is ten miles away, the Missouri Pacific main line (now U.P.) is about twenty miles away.
The picture from the fallen flags site does match to a “T”. So, I take it that this was possibly a drover’s caboose which became a MOW car or transfer caboose, then put to pasture in the 1990’s. Right?
Here’s a link to a photo that shows a car similar to the one we’ve been speculating about.
http://www.trainweb.org/screamingeagle/caboose1.html Scroll down to WWII era Steel Baggage-Coach Caboose.
I’ve added the underlined emphasis to the caption that accompanies this photo. "MP engine #230 with a disappearing breed - a WWII era steel baggage/coach caboose with a large side-door. Meant to meet the demands as a result of the war, these cars doubled as passenger carriers for the branchlines and were the first on the system to be built with steel sides. The company still owned five baggage door cabs in 1980. May 1968 - Lee Berglund photo/ Todd Greuter Collection "·
Mark
Right track, anyway–but I suspect that it’s been out to pasture for a lot longer than “since the 1990s”, based on the pre-1970s number still carried on the end. That end number was protected better than any markings on the sides, and it doesn’t appear to have been painted over.
Somewhere back in my mental collection of “I know I read that somewhere, but don’t remember where,” I recall something about cabeese that were also used for local express, and most likely even passenger service. This one would certainly fit the bell.
The Drover’s caboose idea is also likely.
The 2003 MPHS calendar has a sweet color photo of a line of MP cabooses at Concordia, KS in 1955. Out of the 5 pictured; 2 are exactly like this one (the # of one of them is 1158), 2 similar ones with bay windows, and a true wood Drovers caboose. These were used for mixed train service.
Launch a rescue operation![swg]
Where do you guys find these things? who owns them? it seems all over the U.S. there is abandonded railway stuff everywhere, if I found this I would be hauling it back home with me.
Fellow MOPAC fans,
If you happen to have the book Cabooses of the Missouri Pacific Lines by G.J. Michaels Jr. look at pg 65 and you can see these cabooses …The 1100 -1158 were former wood sided “baggage” cabooses used on short lines of the MP the photo collection show several examples but 1154 is not shown…These were wood sided cabooses that were rebuilt with steel carbodies…they show in the book to have survived into the UP-MP merger and used as “safety cabooses” 1154 may have been sold sometime after that…
This is what the Mop called a baggage-coach caboose which was built by the Mop for use in mixed train service on branch lines. See Elvin Klepzig’s website for more information on Mop caboose’s. He also lists this caboose in the preserved caboose’s section. His website is: http://dbry.rrarchives.com/
John Chambers
John,
I looked at this guys site and it appears that all his info comes from the book I mentioned and even shows the cover ! From what I saw the book is mentioned abot every other paragraph…I didnt see any photos…
Here’s the story and history on “caboose” MP 1154!!! 
http://dbry.rrarchives.com/cabsavedhtml/cabstyles.html#SMWOB
My thanks to Elvin Klepzig for providing the information. Elvin is rebuilding the sister to this car, MP 1153. You can see his progress at