Milwaukee Ribbed Side Caboose
Wm. K Walthers
5601 West Florist Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53218
www.walthers.com
Walthers Part # 932-7661
HO scale, $34.98,
currently in stock at Walthers
* Fully
Assembled * All Grab Irons Installed * All Detail Parts Added * Metal
Wheelsets * Knuckle Couplers * Superb Paint & Lettering * Authentic
Milwaukee Road Prototype * All-New Car - First Ever Ready-to-Run Version
* Used System-wide from 1939-80s * Roof-Mounted Lantern Smokejack *
Side-Mounted Tool Box * Three Period Paint Schemes
In the mid-1930s, new and bigger freight
cars created visibility problems for crews in caboose cupolas. Starting
in 1937, the Milwaukee rebuilt some older wooden cabooses, removing the
rooftop cupola and installing new side-mounted bay windows. This
experiment proved successful, reducing injuries, improving visibility
and putting crews where they could spot problems quickly. By this time,
the ever resourceful and cost-conscious Milwaukee also had welded-steel
passenger and freight cars with ribbed sides (ribs improved strength
while reducing overall weight) in regular service. In 1939, these ideas
were combined to create an all-new welded steel bay window caboose with
ribbed sides. Two additional ideas were borrowed from the passenger
department; trucks were a design first used on some 56' combines built
in 1934, and the cars wore the road's signature orange, maroon and black
paint. There were some innovative new ideas too, including a
side-mounted toolbox that made it easier to retrieve repair parts.
Construction began in the Milwaukee's shops in July, with the first car
ready for service by mid-August, and 75 completed by year's end. With
minor changes, modernizations and improvements, the Milwaukee would
build 315 of these cars through 1951. Serving all over the system in a
variety of roles, many of the rugged little cabooses outlived the
Milwaukee Road itself. After the 1985 merger with the Soo Line, many
survivors were sold, and several have been preserved. Your model
represents a 1939-built car, refitted with a small smokejack for the
kerosene lamp above the conductor's desk.
Reviewed by
George Riley
