C-30 wood caboose

[Rwilliams]

Hiding the small 12 volt battery was never in question, just how soon the restroom was going to be designed and constructed. I made a removable shelf in the restroom so the battery will not be down in a hole where human hands do not fit well if at all. The shelf will allow for wiring to pass up to the battery terminals as needed. The restroom needed a door to look the part but it did not need to open for any reason. Therefore, make a fake door that looked real complete with louvers in the top panel. The bottom panel was a slam dunk operation but the fake louvers took a while to decide on how to make them look real.

With no material in the local hobby shop at all, I went to a local hardware store and found their only two decent 1/8 diameter poplar dowels. Cut the dowels to correct length using well over 50 inches of material to fill the top panel area. Some glue and primer had the front of the restroom looking like the real deal only needing a door latch and some caboose interior green paint.

Robert

[Rwilliams]

This image should remove any curosity in regards to the battery shelf allowing for the gel cell battery to sit up high for ease of access for human hands. The corner desk is now completed with a cherry top and a brass leg/foot. The leg is adjustable for length to achieve the correct height in relation to the bottom of the window sills. Need to finish up a conductor chair like Jack Bodenmann built for his bobber caboose project.

Robert

[JBodenmann]

Hi Robert
The caboose is looking very good. The Windsor chair is a fun little detail. I think I may have some insulators left that you can have for the legs.
Jack

[Rwilliams]

Jack,

Watching the bobber caboose project evolve from raw materials was several months of eye candy for me. The slick looking conductor's chair was one of the finishing details that put it over the top. I knew right then that eventually I too would be making one of those very cool chairs. In fact, I have been reviewing the sketch you provided and have started cutting some parts.

Building a chair in full size is one of the most challenging things a wood craftsman can do. Doing the same in 1.5 scale has to be an even greater challenge. Seems there are more holes drilled at angles then I have ever seen in one project. I am working on some sketches for drilling fixtures so at least some of the holes will be in the right place. My first attempt at the course of Conductor Chair #101 is still in the early stages and I hope to receive a passing grade.

Bigger question is how many scrap parts did you throw away before the chair was done?

Robert

[Greg_Lewis]

Jack,
...
Bigger question is how many scrap parts did you throw away before the chair was done?

I have sometimes thought about suggesting we get together and make a midnight trip to the alley behind Jack's house and go through his trash. It would be of some comfort to know if the master also makes mistakes.

[Rwilliams]

Sometimes I build a part and think I got it right the first time. Then I take a fresh look at photos or visit a museum and notice some detail which was never included during my design work and construction. Usually it is too late to do an easy upgrade but this time the elements were in my favor. Fortunately when I discovered that the caboose doors were equipped with weather stripping at the bottom edges, the finish coat of paint had yet to be applied and the primer was easy enough to remove. Once removed with careful application of masking tape, I glued the weather strip to the door bottom and used the milling machine vise to insure no movement. Once the glue cured, I cut the weather strip and sanded it to finish length.

The image shows the before on the outside face of the door and the after glue up and trim job on the right side of the image.

Another detail seldom seen in the hobby but important on the full size caboose to keep the drafts out. It is a strip of cherry wood 1/16 thick and .398 wide rounded on the top outside corner with a new single cut mill file and a sanding sponge.


Robert

[Rwilliams]

When I started on the C-30 caboose project, I did not have much time due to work and knew I wanted a correct tool box. I started in designing and building the tool box. When completed, I took a look at all 3 of the different locations for the brake bleed rod and handle located in the area of the tool box and elected to do what I considered to be the easy one to build. It was something that went fast and with few if any dimensioned sketches and worst of all, no photos to help the memory. Suddenly it was done and I moved on with new caboose tasks. I had no idea that I would be asked to construct one in the future. This also happened several months before Jack Bodenmann encouraged me to start the build log of the caboose.

Recently a friend wanted the extra detail for his caboose and I tried to construct the same set of parts. This time sketches were drawn up and photos taken so the issue of memory fade will not be a problem in the future. The trip back into the past also gives me a chance to share the detail parts never before seen on this build.

With a bit of match drilling into the tool box supports and some paint, the new detail will soon have a happy new home and everyone will see how it was made to happen.

Robert

[Rwilliams]

After some tedious fitting and match drilling for 2-56 threads, the brake bleed rod is now in a happier home. Parts were painted before installation so I only had to apply the semigloss after all was in order.

In the second photo, notice my personal tool box with the through the box location of the bleed rod. This was one of the options for the bleed rod location which was used on many but not all C-30 cabooses on the SP. I modeled the through the box design so there would be some variation if the same caboose design was appearing at the track built by someone else. Also notice the custom made 2-56 heavy square nuts on the lower tool box. Could not find any offered by suppliers to the hobby so made up my own. Another detail to set my caboose apart from the other builds.

[Rwilliams]

Here is one more view from the bottom side showing the 4 2-56 button head socket machine screws used to secure the front and back brackets to the tool box supports. Once the brackets are in place, the bleed rod is slipped in from the front and secured with a pair of 3-48 hex nuts on the rear bracket. Time to install the upgraded tool box back under the caboose. My friend felt the caboose looked naked without the tool box in place.

[Rwilliams]

I do not often work with thin sheet metal in the mill vise but this piece of aluminum for the caboose stove rear wall insulation barrier needed to be milled in a big way. I wanted small rounded corners for the window cutout which called for a 3/16 diameter end mill. The part was much too large for the vise jaws so plan B was resorted to. I clamped a piece of aluminum bar stock in the vise and then clamped the aluminum bar-stock into the vise jaws. Keeping the cutter near the bar-stock eliminated most of the chatter and light cuts kept the finish up to standards. The end result was a perfect fitting insulation barrier with a window cutout so viewers will be able to see the interior details a bit better. Some of the cabooses had no insulation barrier cutout at the window which spoils the view looking in or out. Now to install the final sheet in back of the stove and see how it looks.

[Rwilliams]

Over two years ago I started on a long term project to add some elegant detail to the top of the conductor's desk top. The rather large 60inch long desk in full size cabooses had to have a reason besides dining and card games. I found the older blanket style timetables were of rather large size being slightly over 15 inches wide. When opened this was a 30 inch wide monster taking up half of the desk top. Finding one in good condition took a while and then to find a scanner large enough to scanner it to a memory stick was the next task. The local FedEx office had a scanner and charged a small fee to do a high resolution scan.

Next was to get the scanned image cleaned to perfection in Photoshop so it could be printed out on a high resolution printer with good detail. When printed out in 1.6 scale, the timetable is fairly easy to read and looks the part on the desk top. Here we see it through the window and from inside with the roof removed. The train crew will have no excuses to not be in the clear of all superior class freight and passenger trains from now on.

This is one of the fun little details that will help to set a model apart from the rest of the pack. I look forward to adding more details to the top of the desk in the future.

Robert

[Rwilliams]

Today in our modern society, most would associate a red box with a bright red kiosk at some local store where DVD's of the latest offerings from Hollywood can be had at the press of a button. In our case, the red box is a important addition to the standard equipment found in a caboose. Before the conversion to radio communications, the use of fusees and torpedoes for signaling was just another day at the railroad. Several different versions of red painted boxes were used by the SP to contain these signaling devices.

The red box started life at the end of a block of aluminum and was soon carved out on the mill. The hole in the back serves to hold a small brass rod by which it is secured to the wall. Study of photos and preserved cabooses show that the red box was found at almost every location possible in a caboose except near the stove. The application of some small lettering from a O scale decal set sure helps to add detail to the red box making it stand out even more.

Robert