Cupola Caboose Rebuild

Where users can chronicle their builds. Start one thread and continue to add on to it.

Moderator: Harold_V

User avatar
NP317
Posts: 4551
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: Northern Oregon, USA

Re: Cupola Caboose Rebuild

Post by NP317 »

Thanks for your posting of pictures and techniques.
The info you are sharing is universally applicable to so many live steam projects.
I appreciate your efforts, and learn from them.
Thanks.
~RN
ccvstmr
Posts: 2229
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:37 am
Location: New Lenox, IL

Re: Cupola Caboose Rebuild

Post by ccvstmr »

RN (it's Russ isn't it?)...you're welcome and thanks for your post. Was beginning to think nobody was "getting any of this".

I would add though...I can't take all the credit. As the tag line says at the bottom...I don't walk on water, I just know where some of the stepping stones are. Similarly, I've borrowed good ideas that others had, made improvements or changes when I thought those were warranted, came up with some ideas of my own. Get 100 board contributors to offer suggestions...and you're likely to get 200 different ideas. Nothing wrong with that. In this case, all are welcome to use as they see fit...and hope they would in turn, share their own tips, tricks and techniques. As such, the Chaski board has been a great tool for sharing info among fellow hobbyists. As I'm sure you know...some of the best ideas come from the strangest places.

This was one of the reasons why I took so many photos during the rebuild...for an article just like this. Problem was selecting which photos best described and illustrated the process and methods. Resizing all those photos took a few hours. All I can say is...there's more to come on the 'boose rebuild project. Enjoy! Carl B.
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
I don't walk on water...I just learned where some of the stepping stones are!
I love mankind...it's some of the people I can't stand!
GS14403
Posts: 275
Joined: Wed May 11, 2011 8:58 pm

Re: Cupola Caboose Rebuild

Post by GS14403 »

With my versions of the C-30 caboose soon to be started (ala Robert Williams and my dad), rest assured your articles are being studied with great interest. Thanks for sharing and all the great photographs.

Donald
Jerry_H
Posts: 241
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 9:39 pm
Location: Central FL

Re: Cupola Caboose Rebuild

Post by Jerry_H »

As I write this I am in the process of filing the grab iron info away for future reference.
Really do appreciate your taking the time to write all this up.

Jerry
www.chaski.com
ccvstmr
Posts: 2229
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:37 am
Location: New Lenox, IL

Re: Cupola Caboose Rebuild

Post by ccvstmr »

Donald and Jerry...you're most welcome. Happy to provide assistance with your project building. Glad someone can take things I've done and use them to suit their modeling needs.

Can't stress enough when I was making multiple parts...consistency and repeatability were important criteria. After the fixtures were made...if one part was not satisfactory, it was easy to make a replacement.

When I build something or in this case rebuild something...I always try to "one-up" what I did before. Always trying to improve my model building skills. I was never looking to build something in the "museum quality" range. I know from experience models get used and abused once they hit the rail head. However, I did want a final product that was believable without spending excessive amounts of time (from less than 10 feet away).

As some say...life is short. I enjoy the model building, have fun running, like to do switching operations...but I also enjoy sharing the fruits of my efforts with others model railroaders. Sometimes it's better to know what NOT to do, than know what to do! There is no better feeling when a fellow model builder pays you a compliment. THEY too, realize the time invested to create the finished product. It all comes at the rate of enjoyment!

I will add...if you guys have additional questions or concerns, please...add a post or drop me a PM. Thanx again. There's more to come. Carl B.
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
I don't walk on water...I just learned where some of the stepping stones are!
I love mankind...it's some of the people I can't stand!
ccvstmr
Posts: 2229
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:37 am
Location: New Lenox, IL

Re: Cupola Caboose Rebuild

Post by ccvstmr »

Caboose Rebuild cont'd...need an air reservoir?

Many modelers are aware of the 10 foot rule...things look great from 10 feet away. Similarly, some modelers are sticklers for details that are UNDER the car...usually out of sight. Only visible when on the ground taking low level photos. An air reservoir falls into that category. Many times, the air reservoirs are mounted close to the under edge of the car...so they are still somewhat visible.

About the time I started this rebuild project, I had a friend contact me about air reservoir dimension. Turned to my Kalmbach Car Builders Cyclopedia for info and dimensions. Was able to extrapolate dimensions from the little info that was provided and passed that along. Seems as though this guy was making a bunch of tanks for someone else building a string of cars. When he was done, he passed a couple samples back to me.

Prior to this rebuild project, I would take a couple 1" or 1.5" PVC and caps and glue them together. Bend a couple pieces of sheet metal for supports and pass a piece of thread rod thru the (3) pieces, held together with acorn nuts and screwed to the bottom of the car. Simple. Quick. Easy. Economical. However, that wouldn't be good enough this time around. So I went back to the cyclopedia to look at air reservoir mounting hardware...and that's what the next few posts will concentrate on.

Air reservoirs have what I would call a 3-point support, or more like hung from 3 supports. The challenge...how to create something similar, without having to make a bunch of parts, fancy fixtures, or use a lot of soldering or fasteners to assemble. Here's what I came up with.

I took some 3/4" or 7/8" brass rod (I bought a bunch of this stuff years ago from a scrap dealer) to make the reservoir end "cap" pieces. Could steel or aluminum be used? Absolutely. Could even use a plastic type material if that's all you had to use. Since no soldering was involved, there's no need to worry about melting the supports. Flat surfaces were milled on the sides of the rod to produce the finished width for the cap (the photos may seem a little out of sequence).
xIMG_5677.JPG
The rod material went into the lathe to machine the concave end. The center hole kept getting drilled deeper as I went along. This hole would eventually be used when assembling the parts of the reservoir.
xIMG_5681.JPG
The end cap was then parted off. Wondering what the brass rod is on the right side? A machinist friend told me about this "trick" to eliminate digging thru the chip tray for your valued parts. As the piece is "parted off"...the piece is captured by the wire...and slide out of the way to the right. As long as there's a center hole, this became a "step and repeat" process. Made multiple parts fabrication go quick. When I ran out of hole...I just drilled the brass stock deeper.
xIMG_5679.JPG
Up to this point, all of the end caps are the same. This would soon change. Before I made too many end cap pieces, I did a trial fit. Want to make sure the end of the reservoir "sat" inside the concave end cap.
xIMG_5683.JPG
At this point, the two different end caps would evolve. One cap had provisions for (2) mounting studs, the other cap only need (1) mounting hole. The challenge was how to get intersecting thread rods to hold things together. The end caps went back into the mill to machine the necessary recesses. The 2 stud mount needed a gap in the middle...the 1 stud mount needed the sides cut away leaving the center tab.
xIMG_5684.JPG
The (2) stud mount end cap (left side) had a space between the tabs wide enough to get an acorn nut in there. The hole down the middle was a clearance hole for the thread rod that holds the reservoir assembly together. The two mounting tab holes were clearance holes for 4-40 thread rod. The (1) stud mount end cap (right side)...was threaded in the center horizontally. The vertical mounting stud hole was also 4-40 clearance hole. The horizontal thread rod penetrated this end cap without interfering with the vertical mounting stud. Loctite would secure the thread rod in the single mount end cap.

Did you follow all that? Perhaps this will make more sense as you see the assembly come together. Stay tuned. Carl B.
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
I don't walk on water...I just learned where some of the stepping stones are!
I love mankind...it's some of the people I can't stand!
ccvstmr
Posts: 2229
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:37 am
Location: New Lenox, IL

Re: Cupola Caboose Rebuild

Post by ccvstmr »

Caboose Rebuild cont'd...time to hang a reservoir

With the end caps machined...I realized the parts looked "too square". Decided to secure the end caps on a piece or thread rod and spin each cap against the belt sander. This beveled/rounded out the harsh corners. The next two photos show the 1 and 2 stud mounting end caps before/after the sanding.
xIMG_5692.JPG
xIMG_5700.JPG
In the next two photos, I took a piece of 1" x 1/8" cold rolled steel to use as a mounting plate. Drilled and tap holes in the steel plate to coincide with the distances between the mounting tabs on the air reservoir. Cut some 4-40 thread rod to length. Used some Loctite again to secure the thread rods in the mounting plates. And then...I cut several short pieces of brass tubing to slide over the thread rod and hide the exposed threads. Slid the air reservoir into place and secured with a couple 4-40 square nuts. At the appropriate time, parts were sand blasted, primed and painted (black).
xIMG_5705.JPG
xIMG_5706.JPG
Finally, here's the air reservoir fully painted and ready for hanging under the caboose floor.
xIMG_5725.JPG
There's only a couple more detail parts to cover. I'll get to those in the next installment. Stay tuned. Carl B.
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
I don't walk on water...I just learned where some of the stepping stones are!
I love mankind...it's some of the people I can't stand!
ccvstmr
Posts: 2229
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:37 am
Location: New Lenox, IL

Re: Cupola Caboose Rebuild

Post by ccvstmr »

Caboose Rebuild cont'd...wrapping things up

As the end is in sight for the rebuild project, thought I'd share the last couple of items before the entire caboose comes together.

First item is a tool box. Didn't think it was necessary to have a "working" tool box, but something that looked like it COULD be a working tool box. In fact, the tool box on the rebuild project was the original tool box. It was sand blasted (lightly) and painted. The tool box started as a couple pieces of 2x4 that were glued together and cut to size. Scribed basswood was used to cover the face and ends of the block of wood. Took some thin gauge brass angle and "framed" the exposed corner edges. Escutcheon pins were used to simulate a riveted box. Used some small brass hinges from the hardware store (these are still available these days). And probably used a piece of coat hanger wire to form a handle. As I look at the handle...I could replace that with a handle similar to the handles on the end of the cabin. Here's the repainted tool box ready to screwed to the underside of the caboose.
xIMG_5666.JPG
Another little tid bit...an over-sized pin head from the wife's sewing supplies was not acceptable this time around. Was walking thru a Hobby Lobby store when some doll house accessories caught my eye. It might be "railroady"...but hey, it's my caboose. So I got a "dressed up" door handle with face plate. Here's how that looked on the end doors.
xIMG_5811.JPG
Sorry to say, the doors are not operating doors. The last thing I want (or need) is to find a nest of critters taking up residence inside the 'boose. So when the original cabin was built, it was basically a plywood box with a framed interior structure. Those door locks DID come with a brass key (go figure)...which I think I hung on a nail inside the caboose.

Next time...I'll pull it all together. Carl B.
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
I don't walk on water...I just learned where some of the stepping stones are!
I love mankind...it's some of the people I can't stand!
ccvstmr
Posts: 2229
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:37 am
Location: New Lenox, IL

Re: Cupola Caboose Rebuild

Post by ccvstmr »

Caboose Rebuild cont'd...let's get rolling!

The original build for the cupola caboose took 2 months working nights and weekends. The caboose rebuild...took approx. 8 months. Since the original partnership had dissolved, instead of using the original BB&T road name (Bickleton, Bellingham & Tuscarora), the caboose road name was changed to my HO railroad...C&CV road name (Corona & Central Valley). However, I kept the original caboose number. Here's how the caboose looked when it all came together...
xIMG_6168.JPG
xIMG_6171.JPG
xIMG_6163.JPG
The deadline to complete the caboose rebuild project was the Chicago area All American Train Show in March, 2015. Except for the ladders that were still being worked on, the caboose was set out on display during that show. It wasn't long afterward when the ladders were completed and installed. Many of my fellow club members came by and asked if I built a new caboose over the Winter months? Nope...that's the same old caboose...with a major facelift!

If you've been following along on the rebuild thread, there's one point I specifically avoided mentioning. In fact, I'm surprised NOBODY asked this question...how old is the caboose? Now you'll understand the significance of the caboose number..."988". The caboose was originally out-shopped and hit the rails in September, 1988. That's right...when the caboose was rolled into the shop for its "extreme makeover"...it was already 27 years old! Hard to believe I've been in this hobby that long. What I find saddening...is the number of fellow hobbyists I've seen pass away. I can only hope that someday when my estate needs to be dissolved, the caboose will find a new caretaker...someone that will continue to look after something I never thought would be rolling around so long.

As noted at the start, my caboose is "utility car". Aside from carrying a red flag, lifter/re-railer, first aid kit, rain poncho, extension cord, waterproof battery charger and marker light batteries...there's still enough space to drop a remote brake unit inside for switching operations. The marker lights are then patched into the brake unit to be illuminated when the rear end train brakes are activated...to keep the back half of the train from rolling away. Some might say, it's a roll-behind tool box. Anyway, here's a view of the caboose interior without the roof.
xIMG_6173.JPG
Now, there's one last piece of work to cover...the trucks. However, I'm getting read for a 2 week trip...so there will be a "break in the action" until I get back. At that time, I'll show how I pulled a set of trucks from nothing more than bunch of pieces and added a few things on my own.

Thanx for following along. If you've had half as much fun slogging your way thru all the dribble and photos...then I've had twice as much as you! Take care. Hope to meet you trackside...someplace, sometime! Happy railroading. Carl B.
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
I don't walk on water...I just learned where some of the stepping stones are!
I love mankind...it's some of the people I can't stand!
User avatar
NP317
Posts: 4551
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: Northern Oregon, USA

Re: Cupola Caboose Rebuild

Post by NP317 »

Carl:
Again, Thanks for the incredible construction report on an incredible project!
I have learned much that will enhance my own modeling work.

Your final product is a most remarkably detailed caboose!
~Russ/RN
User avatar
Gary Armitstead
Posts: 279
Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 12:35 am
Location: Burbank, CA

Re: Cupola Caboose Rebuild

Post by Gary Armitstead »

Carl,

I want to also thank you for these posts on rebuilding your caboose. I have been following this closely and filing away your posts and photos. My son and I are doing the same thing now to our old wood caboose. Lots of miles and lots of wear :). Our caboose is four years OLDER than my son!

Our "cabeese" seem to "almost" look alike. Ours is "passable", but yours is a magnificent model :)!
I made a major mistake in the placement of the window below the cupola! Because our car is a riding car, I moved the cupola, but didn't move the window :(.

Our roof was in terrible condition after 35 years and we tried sanding and repainting. We weren't satisfied. But your idea of using denim cloth really caught our attention, so we are going to put that on our "to do" list as we rebuild. Thanks again for sharing the commentary and photos. You have been a big help AND inspiration to our project. :)
Attachments
cab1.jpg
cab1.jpg (129.63 KiB) Viewed 11327 times
wood caboose restore 1 06 30 2013 hmw.jpg
3 wood caboose repaint 05 10 2015 hmw.jpg
Gary Armitstead
Burbank, CA
Member LALS since 1980
Member Goleta Valley Railroad Club 1980-1993
ccvstmr
Posts: 2229
Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:37 am
Location: New Lenox, IL

Re: Cupola Caboose Rebuild

Post by ccvstmr »

Russ and Gary...thank you for the kind words. Glad to have provided the seeds of inspiration for your new or rebuild projects coming. Can't stress enough the amount of fun I had (with a few bouts of frustration thrown in here 'n there) during the entire rebuild process. Was in regular contact with other Chaski contributors that also provided useful tidbits. I could say...there were a lot more people involved in the conceptualization process. I simply turned ideas into physical items. So, learn a little...give a little. What comes around...goes around.

In the end, I would say the finished product FAR EXCEEDED my expectations. When people think a 27 year old piece of equipment is brand new...I must have done a few things right...certainly better than the first time! Glad you enjoyed the thread. As you continue your build and rebuild projects...hope you'll share the results of your efforts here as well.

I was playing around with the camera software some time back to produce a sepia/brown tone photo. Here's what I came up with. Yep, looks old-fashioned (if I only had a foot peg and engineer seat camera lens filter). Cheerz! Carl B.
IMG_6172_1.jpg
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
I don't walk on water...I just learned where some of the stepping stones are!
I love mankind...it's some of the people I can't stand!
Post Reply