Building A Transfer Caboose

Modeler Larry Puckett followed the practice of the prototype by converting a flat car into a transfer caboose. Larry Puckett

Transfer cabooses have been used since at least the early 1940s for a variety of purposes. As the name implies, their main duty was to serve as a rolling office for the conductor and brakeman on transfer runs between yards. They also saw service on locals, and even in maintenance of way. Built in railroad shops, they varied from modified mainline cabooses to rebuilt rolling stock in various shapes and sizes. One common approach was to construct a shack on an old flatcar.

Generally called transfer cabooses, on the Southern they were also referred to as caboose flats, crew transfer cars, and, most often, flatcar cabooses.

Cabins on Southern’s early versions were constructed of vertical, scribed wood siding. Later cabins were made of steel. Because I had no photos of the original wood cabooses at the time I began this project, I decided to model the welded steel cab. The Red Caboose HO scale 42-foot flatcar is an excellent starting point.

The Southern Railway used flatcars as the bed for their transfer cabooses. The Houser collection

From wood to steel

It was in the early 1950s that Southern terminal superintendents, on their own initiative, built five flatcar cabooses in New Orleans and one in Louisville using old 41'-6" flatcars. Construction costs were limited to $1,000.

Apparently these first Southern flatcar cabooses were successes, because in August 1955 Southern’s Hayne Shop began converting more, and they were also given their own class designation, XC. Interestingly, because they were constructed for use in specific yards, they were paid for with yard funds and controlled by the terminal superintendents of those yards. As a result, most remained in the same location throughout their service lives. A total of 27 of the original wooden versions were built between 1955 and 1963.

By 1958, however, many of the wooden cabins were in serious need of repair, and Hayne Shop was authorized to begin replacing the wooden cabins with welded steel cabins with steel roofs. The same basic design was retained, but cabin size was increased somewhat and a window was added to each side.

The cars were mostly painted bright caboose red and had yellow handrails, grab irons, and steps. Around 1960, Southern began to use large block style lettering of various sizes. Because the change to the block style white lettering overlapped the period when Hayne Shop was replacing the wood cabins with steel ones, not all were made with the earlier style small yellow lettering. About six probably were. Red body color with small yellow lettering lasted into the mid-1960s on cars that had it.

Although not officially adopted until 1965, at some point in the early 1960s Southern began to use marker disks on all cabooses. This metal disk, which was yellow on one side and red on the other, sat in a holder in the center of the end handrails next to the brake stand. While the train was on the main track or fouling the main track at a turnout, the red side was displayed, then when in the clear on a siding the yellow side was to be displayed. Even though the rules specified that these marker disks were supposed to be reflective, railroaders I talked to say most were plain paint.

Although retirement dates are not available, by the time of Southern’s merger with the Norfolk & Western in 1982 the flatcar cabooses were either stored or had been scrapped.

Fig. 1, DECK. Because the steel cabs were not built on top of the deck, a scale 17 feet of the decking has been removed and replaced with sheet styrene as a floor for the cab. Larry Puckett

Modifying the HO flatcar

To build the HO model, I began by removing some flatcar decking. This is necessary because, unlike the wood cabs, which sat flat on the deck, the steel cabs were built up from the side sills after the deck planks in that area were removed.

I used an X-acto no. 15 keyhole saw blade in a large knife handle. Be very careful not to cut into the side sills – it’s better to file and sand off any leftover decking than it is to take any risk of damaging the sides.

I cut a rectangle of .020" styrene sheet wide enough to fit between the side sills and about a scale 20 feet long, then glued it in the opening from the underside of the deck as shown in fig. 1.

Next I drilled holes in the deck for the handrail stanchions. The handrails and stanchions originally were constructed of 1"-diameter pipe connected with standard pipefittings. Although the original drawings show the handrails attached to the cabins, it appears that no cars were built that way.

I used stanchions cut from a set of plastic Atlas GP7 handrails and drilled holes in the deck for them following the spacing in the prototype drawing. I then drilled no. 77 holes through the pipefittings on the stanchions and inserted .015"-diameter brass wire to serve as handrails. Similar brass handrails and stanchions from Smokey Valley Railroad & Machine Co. could also be used, especially those for the Train Master. Once the holes are drilled and handrails assembled, they can be set aside until the rest of the project is completed.

Fig. 2: END DETAILS. The brake stand can be seen in this closeup shot. Notice also the holes drilled in the corners of the deck for the handrail stanchions. Larry Puckett

Putting on the brakes

It’s a good idea at this point to provide mounting holes for the brake stands. My brake stands were salvaged from a scrapped Athearn caboose I picked up at a white elephant table, although I did replace the brake wheels with more detailed ones from Kadee.

First I drilled a no. 77 hole on each side for attaching the handrails, exactly three scale feet up from the deck. On the original drawings, the brake stand location was not shown, so I had to work from photographs. I cut a hole in the last board immediately to the side of the coupler pocket and squared it using a square jeweler’s file. Once the fit is correct, set the brake stand aside.

From the photographs it appears that the shop crews simply removed the rivets holding the stake pockets on, leaving the holes in the side sills exposed. Following their example, I did the same, leaving off the stake pockets and ignoring the open holes.

I then installed straight grabs made from Detail Associates grab irons in the holes provided on each end sill (fig. 2). Finally, I installed a couple of Detail Associates eyebolts near the top of the end sills on the same side as the brake stand and inserted a Detail Associates uncoupling lever modified to look like those in the photographs.

Fig. 3 RUNNING BOARD STEPS. The vertical supports were Design Associates brass strips a scale 4" wide, 3/8" thick, and 26" long and were attached to the sills on 261/2" centers. Larry Puckett Fig. 4 TOOLBOX. The toolbox located on the edge of the deck is made of Plastruct styrene 1/4" square tube, cut to a scale five feet long. Close the ends with squares of .010" styrene. Larry Puckett

Steps ’n’ grabs

The steps on transfer cabooses were the same as those on bay-window cabooses. Mine came from an old Funaro & Camerlengo caboose kit. Since that kit is no longer available, you may have to scratchbuild your steps. I’d suggest you use .010" styrene and follow the measurements in the drawing.

The running board step below the cab door is made from K&S Engineering and Detail Associates brass shapes (fig. 3). The vertical supports were attached to the side sills and also support the horizontal running board. The running board is a K&S brass angle, 6" on each side and 6'-6" long. I simply attached it with cyanoacrylate adhesive (CA) to the supports.

I also used the same K&S brass angle for the vertical supports for the curved grabs near the car ends as shown in figs. 2 and 4. These were about 3'-6" long with the lower 6" on one side cut away. I drilled holes for the Detail Associates curved grabs, then tack-glued the supports in place. With the curved grabs in place I marked locations carefully and drilled companion holes on the side sills of the flatcar. Then I removed the angle supports and set them aside for permanent installation later.

A toolbox (fig. 4) goes on the same side of each car as the smokejack. Its location outside the safety railing must have made it awkward to get into. The toolbox can be made from Plastruct square tubing. Add styrene ends and trim and sand them flush after the glue dries. The straps were HO 1 x 6 styrene cut in half lengthwise and glued to the toolbox. I set the finished toolbox aside for installation later.

Fig. 5 LADDER GRABS. The door and window openings in the sides of the cab were framed with 2 x 4 strips. The grab irons began at the bottom side panel strip with the second one 14" above the first and the rest spaced at 161/2" intervals. Larry Puckett

Building the cab

I made the cab of .020" sheet styrene. Make a photocopy of the drawing and tape it to the sheet of styrene. Cut out the window and door openings and then the main panels, using the photocopy as a template. Make pairs of ends and sides.

I framed the door and window openings with HO 2 x 4 styrene strips. Doors were glued to the rear edge of the frames and HO 2x4 strips to the bottoms of the side and end panels. I did a final test fit of the completed cab panels on the flatcar, then glued them together with HO 4x4s in the corners for added strength. I also added HO 4 x 4s to the top and bottom edges of each side and end to serve as attachment points for the roof and for gluing the cab to the flatcar. Don’t attach the cab to the flatcar at this time.

There were ladder grabs on each side as shown in fig. 5 and a roof ladder on each end of the cab. For these, I used a couple of Detail Associates ladders on the ends and Detail Associates grab irons on the sides.

I placed a 30"-long vertical grab between the doorframe and the grabs, about 18" above the side sill. The large curved grab on the right side of the door was attached 3'-10" above the sill and, between it and the lower left corner of the cab window, there was a 30"-radius curve. I bent mine from .015" brass wire using the drawing as a template. Getting these grabs on straight is easier if you make a drilling template from brass or styrene.

Fig. 6 SMOKEJACK. After this photograph was taken, Larry noticed that the smokejack was facing the wrong way, so he turned it 90 degrees. The roof has been glued on the cab. by Larry Puckett Larry Puckett Fig. 7 ROOF END. Here’s a view of one of the four 20"-wide grab irons made from .012" brass wire. You can also see the styrene strips under the roofwalk lateral. Larry Puckett

The cab roof

The roof came from a scrapped Athearn 40-foot boxcar. I separated it from the car at the roofline using a razor saw. As with the floorboards, it’s better to leave a little extra material and then file and sand it flush. The resulting roof was too long and wide for the cab and had to be cut down.

First, I cut the roof in half lengthwise and removed enough material from the middle to match the width of the cab. Next I shortened the roof with a cross cut behind the fourth support rib from one end and cut off the other end behind the first support rib. I sanded the cut ends to get a flush fit, checking them against the finished cab for proper length.

Once they all fit, I glued the two parts on each side together and then glued the two sides together. The final result should be a roof with four ribs and five panels.

I shortened a Cal-Scale open-grated roofwalk to be a little longer than the cab roof and glued it down, installing a couple HO 1x2s as supports on each end (fig. 6).

The lateral sections that come with the Cal-Scale kit have cast-on grabs. I cut these off with a no. 17 blade, sanded the surfaces flush, and attached the panels to the roof using HO 1x2s for supports. Next I made four grab irons from brass wire and installed them on the ends of the laterals adjacent to the roof edges (fig. 7).

Each cab had a stove that required a smokejack on the roof. Trackside Parts makes one similar to the original, which should be installed between the first rib and roofwalk lateral, centered between the long roofwalk and the roof edge (as seen in fig. 6). Finally, I glued the roof to the cab. Fill any gaps with Squadron Green putty and wet-sand it smooth using 600-grit sandpaper. Set the completed cab (fig. 8) aside.

Fig. 8 OVERALL VIEW. In this overall view of the cab area it’s clear how everything fits together – grabs, toolbox, running board steps, and the roof and smokejack. Larry Puckett Fig. 9 DECK WEATHERING. The deck colors, built up in successive coats of earth, brown, primer gray, and dark gray, were lightly sanded, then darkened with a thin black wash. Larry Puckett

Painting and weathering

In color photographs of these cars, the weathered condition of the wooden decks always stands out. To simulate this condition, I sanded the deck with coarse sandpaper, creating the appearance of cracked, weathered wood.

I made random cuts of varying depths and widths between most of the deck planks, as well as a few gouges in the planks and some v-shaped "chips" cut into the ends of several of them.

The color is even more important. I painted and weathered the deck before I painted the rest of the flatcar, first spraying random areas of the deck a light earth color, followed by areas of dark brown. Next, I sprayed large areas a light gray followed with dark gray over almost the entire deck.

To bring out all these different colors and also blend them together, I lightly sanded the deck with a medium grade sandpaper. Finally I made a 10:1 wash of water and black paint and flowed it over the deck, allowing the wash to settle into the cracks, crevices, and woodgrain (fig. 9).

Next, I covered the entire deck with masking tape trimmed back to the edge of the decking. After making sure the tape was sealed tight, I sprayed the ends and side sills Santa Fe red. While I had the red paint in the airbrush I also painted the cab, toolbox, brake stands, and angle grab iron supports.

Then it was time to add all the detail parts I had set aside earlier – first the brake stands and handrails, the toolbox next, the four angle supports, the curved grab irons, the train line air hoses, and the Kadee couplers.

Before adding the cab, hand-paint all the grabs, handrails, brake wheels, and steps reefer yellow. Also, glue a couple of ounces of lead to the cab floor making sure to keep the car evenly balanced. The last thing I did before installing the cab was to glue clear styrene in the windows from inside. Finally, I applied a bead of CA to the base of the cab and set it in place on the flatcar.

Fig. 10 LETTERING. The road name is in 7"-high letters and the cab number is in 6"-high letters. All the lettering was a simplified sans serif style, similar to Microscale’s Railroad Gothic letter set, in Dulux gold, a color similar to reefer yellow.

Lettering

The road name is on the side of the cab between the two top ladder grabs, and the cab number is centered below it between the next two grabs (fig. 10). There was another cab number in 21/2" letters on each end of the cab, centered to the right of the door.

Although no decals are made specifically for this model, improvising markings is fairly straightforward. The road name from a Microscale Southern switcher set is a bit too long, so it’s necessary to cut it apart and apply each letter individually. If you keep the cuts between the letters parallel, they’ll line up straight when applied to the model.

The smaller car numbers are from a Microscale Railroad Gothic yellow alphabet. Don’t forget the 2 1/2-inch high numbers on the ends of the cab. I found the small white build date and repack information among my scraps.

Once the decals were dry I sprayed a 1:1 mixture of Testor’s Dullcote and Glosscote over the entire model, avoiding the windows as much as possible. The trucks got a light coat of primer gray. I drybrushed brown on the trucks and couplers to simulate rust. After hand-painting the smokejack black, I sprayed thin areas of weathered black around it on the roof and in random spots over the rest of the flatcar caboose where dirt might accumulate.

Unusual and eye-catching

The finished model is an unusual and eye-catching addition to my yard, one that allows me to more accurately represent yard transfer runs as part of my operations. And it almost never fails to draw comments from visitors.