Re: Eight wheel Caboose on C&Sng?

Posted by Derrell Poole on Apr 07, 2015; 4:02pm
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/Eight-wheel-Caboose-on-C-Sng-tp488p2015.html

It is a little difficult to be certain but I would agree that this car was more likely 310 if we assume the lateral walks next to the cupola were not removed from 306 in the interim. Or that this was not another car we are not certain of. Also the photo has been published many times. Not having checked every one of them I nevertheless venture that they each have their own opinion of the date it was taken. Like the locomotives we are developing a set of identifiers that help us narrow the accuracy of the dates. I think it is safe to say this photo occurred between 1902 and 1909 give or take. BTW keep in mind what I wrote for Vol. VIII included very few photo captions and I don't recall this to be one of them.

Whether a theory proves to be right or wrong - or un provable - they nearly all do one very important thing; increase discussions  that help expand our understanding. I know I've learned from this one. We are compelled by meaningful arguments to focus our attention and, those of us who can, to dig into the limited knowledge base that we have - it's all good, Jim.

In answer to your last question I'd like to quote from Hol Wagner in Chapter 22 - Cabooses and Official Cars - 1908, "C&S the First 10 Years" unpublished;

"In 1908 the company would develop plans for a “standard narrow gauge caboose,” based on the cars then existing.  Just 12 feet 11 inches long over end sills and 20 feet 5 inches long over couplers, it was truly a tiny car, with two side windows and a cupola mounted flush with one end of the carbody.  Several of the rebuilds came close to matching these standard plans, but no new cars were ever built to the standard."

When we speak of the 1908 rebuild (which undoubtedly went on over a period of years and likely never affected a few of the cars) we need to keep this in mind about the 1908 Standard Drawing - it was probably intended for new builds. And no, I've never seen anything more of the drawing than what was published. In fact, it occurs to me that perhaps this was one page of what would turn out to be an incomplete set and the idea of a Standard NG Caboose was basically abandoned. A possibility - not a fact.