Bay-Window Caboose Kit - Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association Company Store

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Modeling Items > Bay-Window Caboose Kit

Bay-Window Caboose Kit
SKU:N3116

$49.95 Qty:

In Stock: (71)

NP Bay-Window Caboose: In Sept. 1941 with the impending war, NP authorized conversion of twenty 36-foot boxcars of the 36900-37100 series into cabooses numbered 1559-1578 at Brainerd MN. NP officers preferred cupola-type cabooses for mainline use, though they thought bay-window cabooses were acceptable for transfer service or occasional use on the mainlines. These original bay-window cabooses went to the Eastern and Western Districts. In April 1942, 15 boxcars were converted into bay-window cabooses numbered 1579 to 1593. Crews complained about the hard riding qualities of the bay-window cabooses and softer elliptic springs were authorized to be installed in all the caboose trucks, but due to wartime restrictions, the needed steel could not be obtained until March 1943. Many of the cabooses were initially delivered with freight car trucks with heavy coil springs and shock absorbers. In July 1942, ten more bay-window cabooses, numbers 1553-1556, 1549-1552 and 1557-1558 were built at Brainerd. In April 1943, arrangements were made to install screen doors on bay-window cabooses as had been done on other cabooses. In Sept. 1944, twenty-five 36-foot boxcars were converted into cabooses in the number series 1509-1533. The last four cars were to have side doors installed. By 1945, 85 boxcars had been converted into bay-window cabooses at Brainerd, but attrition required building more cabooses, and in Jan. 1945 30 ten boxcar-caboose conversions in the number series 1505-1508 and 1594-1599 were authorized. However, only five of the ten cars, 1505-1508 and 1594, were completed by April as WWII came to an end. By that time, the bay-windows were used all over the system, not just to locals or transfers, but also on fast freights. NP management found that the Lake Superior and St. Paul divisions favored bay-windows, while Yellowstone, Fargo and Western District Superintendents preferred cupola cabooses. In 1947, the bay-window cabooses were transferred to divisions where they were preferred, and cupola cabooses shifted to those who preferred them. The converted bay-window cabooses served the Northern Pacific valiantly, first as revenue-producing boxcars, then across the NP as bay-window cabooses. Fifteen survived long enough to see BN service. Bruce Barney designed these HO-Scale kits from the NP plans and produced them in laser-cut wood with assembly instructions.

Customers who purchased this item also purchased: B-W Caboose Side-Door Kit $10.00 Regular US Membership $25.00 NP Motor Car/Work Shed $23.00 Mainstreeter V6-4 $5.50

Friday, January 09, 2009

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