Re: Eight wheel Caboose on C&Sng?

Posted by Richard Farmer on
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/Eight-wheel-Caboose-on-C-Sng-tp488p1917.html

Regarding the 1003 and 1005, according to the "Narrow Gauge Pictorial"- Caboose Chronology; both cars were scrapped in 1942 after working the Denver Division. This entry includes a footnote that they both may have been sold to the WP&Y along with 1002 in 1942.
However, a little more about 1008 and 1005. Still confusing to me regarding the origin of 1008; if it was originally built as a D,SP&P standard flat roofed waycar and at some point rebuilt with a center cupola and then later rebuilt into its final configuration with the cupola on the "B" end of the car (different than all of the other caboose except 1005), it seems that all of these rebuilds (3) would require extensive work to the framing and include the complete remodeling of the car interiors to accommodate the cupolas, it just seems that a railroad which was always having financial problems at some level could have not justified just rebuilding a car to make it look like all the others.
Now what may partially answer my own question is that when the air brakes were added the original equalizing beam which ran between the front and rear journal boxes having a fulcrum bracket attached to the intermediate sill at the center of the car had to be removed to make room. This requiring a new suspension system using leaf springs be designed and added and several other changes made to accommodate the new brakes. When we examined 1008s' frame we found no evidence of the bracket or its mounting bolt holes, indicating that at some point these massive (for that tiny car) sills were replaced - maybe this would have been a good time to rebuild most of the car! Do any shop records or drawings with dates exist which might support this?