What type of caboose did Southern Railway use in the 1950’s? I am not a big fan of the bay window caboose that was later used and wondered if the caboose with the cupola was still in use in the mid 1950’s. A little help, please.[8****D]
Here is a picture of a cupola caboose taken in 1981. Looks like it’s been around for awhile.
http://southern.railfan.net/images/archive/southern/caboose/soux255billbedellandoverva7181.html
Well, I have a Main Line Motion Pictures “Southern Railway Diesels in the 1950s” DVD and all the Southern trains depicted in that time period have bay window cabooses.
I’m no authority on Southern cabooses but I seem to recall seeing photos of Southern wood cuplola style cabooses. Perhaps even if bay window styles dominated on the Southern in the 50’s, some of the wood cupola ones were used in local service, even if on a limited basis?
Edit: I found this site with a little history on Southern cabooses if you scroll down a bit. It appears I was right. Apparently at least a scant few of the wood cars lasted into your era. I suspect the steel cupola car above was acquired second-hand through a merger or subsidiary. It looks very much like a Northeastern design though some other roads outside the Northeast had them.
http://www.jacksonvilleterminal.com/cabooses.htm
It appears that the bay window cars were pre 1950s design.
There is some more information re: Southern cupola cabooses here: http://www.jacksonvilleterminal.com/cabooses.htm
According to this site, Southern built a series of cupola cabooses in 1922, series X2426 - X2875, and that “some of these lasted in local service into the early 1960’s”.
This caboose was originally from the Savannah & Atlanta Railroad that came under Southern control along with the Central of Georgia in 1963. The S&A and Cof G had cupola cabooses that remained lettered for the subsidary carriers for a number of years. In the 70s those that were left were relettered Southern with the subsidary in small letters. In the 1981 photo you can see the S&A in the top right corner of the side. The CofG cabooses were wood and were retired before the S&A cabs. Most if not all of the S&A cabs migrated to the Interstate Railroad (another SR subsidary) in southwest Virginia where they were used on mine runs to the coal mines.
In Morning Sun Publishing’s Southern Railway Color Guide there is a photo of an original Southern Railway cupola caboose in standby service around 1961. I grew up in the 50s and 60s beside the Southern in Knoxville, Tennessee and all that I ever saw were bay window cabooses.
Charlie,
The wood cupola cabooses, which were built in early 1920’s, did last into the 1960’s. In the 1950’s they would have been seen mostly on local and branchline trains, probably in small numbers. There were two series of bay window cabs. The first, built in 1940-41, had a rounded edge between the roof and the side. The second, built in 1947-48, had a squared off edge. By the mid fifties they would have been the predominate caboose seen in mainline service.
Smoky Mountain Modelworks had a resin kit of the wood cupola caboose available years ago. It’s been out of production for quite a while, but can occasionally be found on Ebay or at train shows. It builds up beautifully. They are supposed to be doing a new release of it with a one-piece resin shell.
Hope This Helps,
Tom Watkins
Thanks Tom. I had a friend in Asheville, NC by the name of Jim King, who years ago owned Smoky Mountain Modelworks. I moved about 12 years ago. Great idea to look this company up and maybe find an old friend.[I]
He still does. He’s a good guy, and makes really nice kits.