Did all the Frisco's bay window cabooses start at SLSF 1726 and above? Were they all the Mandarin orange and white paint scheme? When did the SLSF start using the bay window caboose? Thanks.
Since all the bay window cabooses were built in 11-12/1979, they would be painted Mandarin orange and white only. I have posted the SLSF caboose diagram book to this web site, take a look at it.
Actually there was at least one old wooden bay window caboose in the steam era and it was numbered SLSF 154. Reference Patrick's post #17 in the caboose thread on this site.
Bob, You are correct, but he only asked about the ones built by the railroad in 11-12/1979, which is what I answered.
Richard, If I did, I did not realize it. Thanks for the information. I have an opportunity to model a SLSF bay window caboose but I wanted to make sure it would fit in my Clinton Subdivision route. Sounds like wood it is.
Maybe a bit of a digression but I have a question. Were the 11-12/1979 bay-window cabooses also built out of old Pullman-Standard PS-1 40' boxcars? Best Regards,
Yes, all 1700 (both the cupola and bay window) and 1400 (I think, I'm not 100% sure on this series) series cabooses were made from 40' PS1 box cars. And just for reference sake, it may have varied by caboose. But I do know that caboose SLSF 1714, not a bay window, ran on Barber S2 trucks. So maybe all of them ran on the original trucks from with box cars. I will look closer next time I am at the park and see if I can find a date on the trucks. Ethan
Chris and Ethan, In 1979 the Frisco's Consolidated Freight Car Shops (West Shops) built 10 new bay window cabooses SLSF 1726-1735. These cabooses were constructed from the ground up using all new components. This series of cabooses were not rebuilt form former boxcars. Most major components were fabricated from scratch in the shops including the cushioned underframe, wood floors, sides, ends, bays, handrails and seat cushions. New commercial components were used for the trucks, brake system components, x-panel roofs, windows, lights, radios, stoves, etc. Construction was done using fabrication jugs in an assembly line process. The cabooses were built in the shops on track three. After they were built, they moved east to be sand blasted to ready the metal for painting. They were then moved into the paint shop where the interior and exterior were primed, painted and lettered. Final components (radios, seat cushions, etc.) were then applied and fitted. Hope this helps. Thanks! Mark
Thanks for the clarification and additional insight, Mark. Outside of the retired wooden caboose that used to grace what is now "Frisco Park" in Chaffee, the only active Frisco caboose I was ever in was a bay window job in 1980. It was definitely a novelty on the River Division. The only other bay window cabooses I had seen were St. Louis Southwestern (SSW) or Southern Pacific (SP) or the Missouri Pacific's (MP) unique cabooses running through Rockview, MO. Best Regards,
