Kitbashing

Finishing up a New Caboose

I’ve had the caboose done for weeks, and finally here is Part III of the series, which started here.

The basic idea was to take the sides from a Mantua “heavy” caboose and graft them onto a Scale-Craft caboose body, to make a plausible and distinctly different caboose in American OO.

Underframe details

I used the 3D printed AB brake details from Jeff’s OO and his great trucks on the car. I like the look of the AB brake parts, as they are so visible. I will at some point upgrade the trucks again with his caboose (leaf spring) trucks when I order more trucks.

And it is done

Then I had to work out decals and decide where to letter it in the series of cabooses for the Orient. After that it was quick work.

Actually, the car probably isn’t done, I should go back and add brake wheels at least. But it does operate really well just like it is. A nice bonus is it is lighter than a standard S-C caboose by almost 1/3, no need to drag that much weight on the end of a train.

Would I do it again? Maybe, but not for a while, it was a big job and my layout is pretty small. Visually, I think it worth the effort, it’s nice to see a different caboose.