[P&C home] [How-to Index]

CABOOSE KITBASHING PROJECT

Jan. 1, 2004

NORTHEASTERN STYLE CABOOSE FROM ARISTOCRAFT STEEL CABOOSE

This Reading center-cupola caboose started out as an Aristocraft offset-cupola steel caboose like the one in the insert.  There are several discrepancies from a truly accurate Northeastern-style caboose but the character of the car has certainly changed.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Remove the roof from the body using the screws above the end doors.  Remove the cupola, roofwalks, and end doors as well. 2.  Cut 3/8 inch off the body sides along the top.  Before cutting the ends, reinforce the end doorway areas by cementing styrene pieces across the doorways under the window.  3.  Fit the cupola in the center, score, and cut the long side of the roof to fit. 4.  Measure, cut, and attach two pieces of .040 styreneto fill in the roof. 5.  Glue the roof together.  Trim and add center and end roofwalks. 6.  On the main body, fill in the center windows with .030 inch styrene. 7.  Fill in the end windows in a similar fashion. 8.  Mask windows and paint the model.  9.  When paint is dry, reassemble using screws where possible.

Painting Notes: The red version has a brown roof and end platforms; the green-and-yellow version has a green roof and end platforms.  For green I used Rustoleum Satin Hunter Green.  For yellow I used American Accents Summer Squash.  Ladder and handrails get a bright yellow on both versions. Lettering: I used vinyl lettering (the kind you get in stationery stores) and painted the letters before transferring.

A restored prototype at the Reading and Northern Open House on Sept. 14, 2003.  It was a warm day so the windows were open.  This one is owned by the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society.  The green-and-yellow one behind it is privately owned.  Two more are located a few miles east at the Wanamaker, Kempton, and Southern RR, one of which is a wood-sided version built during WW2 steel rationing.