PROTOTYPE INFO:

Perhaps one of the most recognizable icons of American railroading, the caboose completed the train. Cabooses provided shelter for the rear end crew. From the cupola or bay windows, the crew could keep a lookout for shifting loads, damaged equipment, and overheating axles, this was long required for switching and shunting. As rail cars became larger in the late 1950s and early 1960s, there was a real need for cabooses to have greater visibility for the crew. In the extended-vision or wide-vision caboose, the sides of the cupola project beyond the side of the car body. This model was introduced by the International Car Company and saw service on most U.S. railroads. The expanded cupola allowed the crew to see past the top of the taller cars that began to appear after World War II, and also increased the roominess of the cupola area.

 

ICC CABOOSE FEATURES:

• Better than brass detail including roadname and road number specific detail and laser-sharp painting and printing

• Interior seating for the addition of crew figures.

• See-through end platforms and steps

• Flush window glazing

• Wire-form grab irons

• Caboose trucks with animated rotating bearing or static friction bearing caps

• Axle generator details

• Body-mounted McHenry scale knuckle-spring Couplers

• Fully-assembled and ready-to-run out of the box

• Accurately painted and printed for prototypical realism

• Highly-detailed, injection-molded body

• Separate wireform grab irons, etched metal coupler platforms

• Coupler lift bars, trainline hoses, brake hoses, and hardware

• Full underframe detail: air brake reservoir, control valve, and brake cylinder with plumbing and brake rod details

• Machined metal wheels with RP25 contours operate on all popular brands of track

• Weighted for optimum performance

• Window packaging for easy viewing, plus interior plastic blister safely holds the model for convenient storage

• Multiple road numbers

• Minimum radius: 18”

 

LED LIGHT-EQUIPPED FEATURES:

• LED lighting for long life and reliable operation

• On-board DCC Decoder by NCE – Operates in DCC and Analog (DC) with lighting functions controllable in DCC

• Various classes will feature single or dual roof markers, or end-mount marker lights, per prototype and/or era (not all cars have marker lights)

• LED Interior Lights

• All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode

 

SOUND-EQUIPPED MODELS ALSO FEATURE:

• Soundtraxx Tsunami SoundCar decoder w/ included sounds:

- Air horn or trainline air whistle as appropriate

- Clickety-clack with optional wheel flat spot sounds

- Brake set/release sounds including retainers and brake squeal

- ”Big Hole” emergency brake application sound

- Handbrake tie-down/release

- Adjustable flange squeal

• Supports advanced consisting in DCC

• Full DCC functions available when operated in DCC mode

• All functions NMRA compatible in DCC mode

 

 

Western Pacific

WP’s last order of new cabooses came from International Car in 1980. Of the six cars in this order only one of them, #482, had the WP letters printed on each end of the car. All six came with roof-mounted fire cracker style antennas.

 

WP 481 SERIES FEATURES:

• WP 481 Class caboose

• Functioning marker and interior lights in DCC

• Air whistle (Functions in DCC)

 

 

 

 

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