I have had both of these cabooses a while but just this past week got them set up again for operation.

The lower caboose is Nason and is on Nason trucks. Overall it is pretty much the stock version of this classic car.

The upper caboose was purchased on eBay and deserves a closer look. When I saw it I thought it might be modified Nason and it was in a lot with a Nason reefer. Actually, it is scratchbuilt and was in fact at some point repaired a good bit with a couple “Dutchmen” added to one corner of the roof and the steps, plus one of the steps is plastic at the site of that repair. I set this car up with modified Sn3 Rio Grande Models caboose trucks.

I am not certain but I doubt this car follows any particular prototype. The thing that most interests me with this car is the hand lettering and in particular this date. I think we can assume that the builder lettered this side of the car on 9-10-37. The other side is actually unlettered.

One coupler on this car is Nason and the other end had no coupler. I put on a Kadee so that it would easily trail a train of vintage OO cars. The Nason car has Scale-Craft couplers. The trucks on it have modified Lionel wheelsets (I did not do the deed!).

UPDATE: The Naugatuck Valley caboose was later upgraded (right word?) to a pair of vintage arch bar trucks of uncertain manufacture that match the car well.