USA Trains Wooden Caboose
Kit Bashed to #1 Gauge
by Paul Norton (April 1999)

CNR WOODEN VAN (Circa 1950)
(Click on any picture for a full size image)

I was born with lantern oil in my veins. Both my father and his father spent their lives working for the Canadian National Railway (CNR). So it is only natural that as I grow up (still working on it), Canada’s National Railroad is one of my prime interests. And of course when it comes to running trains in the garden, they have to proudly bear the maple leaf.

Initially, I was frustrated with the lack of large scale equipment available with Canadian road names. However over the last five years, Aristocraft has manufactured a number of handsomely painted CNR steam and diesel locomotives, freight and passenger cars. With the recent release of a CNR boxcar, it is now possible to model fairly complete transition era freight trains except for the caboose. Since we could not possibly run without a caboose, and nobody made one, it was time to do it myself.

Initial Choice

After searching for a while, I selected a USA Trains wooden caboose for a kit bash. The Delton long caboose did not have safety steps or ladders onto the roof and the Aristocraft long steel caboose was not prototypical for the transition era. USA Trains however, had the best prerequisite configuration -- but there was still lots to do including...

...modernizing the trucks and adding couplers, modernizing and detailing the brake gear, relocating the ladders to the proper sides and of course, painting and lettering. For information on CNR equipment see the CNR SIG home page. Battery Powered Lighting: I originally tried using a small battery pack to run all the lights. Unfortunately it would run down in less than an hour, so I decided to power only the marker lights. Of course, if you use track power, you will not have to worry about battery life and can skip this topic. Inside Top View With Battery Pack Inside Top View Without Battery Pack To add battery power, remove the railings and roof. Remove the circuit board and switch from the floor. These are replaced with three brass strips and a small single throw switch from Radio Shack. A rechargeable 9 volt, AA battery pack, also from Radio Shack, will provide the power. It has a Futaba pop connector. You can buy the corresponding connector with leads at hobby shops that sell R/C cars and boats. The negative leads (black) from the battery connector and marker lights are soldered to the top strip. The positive leads from the marker lights (red) and from one side of the switch to the centre strip. The positive lead (red) from the battery and one from the other side of the switch to the bottom strip. The strips were then glued to the floor using thin double sided tape. Install the battery to the van floor with small Velcro strips from Radio Shack. With the switch off, plug the battery pack into its connector. Turn on the switch and test the lights. Replace the roof and railings.

Trucks and Couplers: If you intend to run with track power, then you can just replace the archbars with modern Bettendorf side frames that can be purchased directly from USA Trains (part number R2031), otherwise... ... if you run with battery power like our local garden railway club does, a number of additional modifications are required. The archbar trucks with their track power brushes had to be removed and replaced with Aristocraft sprung trucks. Leaf springs would have been more prototypical, but I didn't find any tender trucks in my spares box. The coupler mounting tabs were cut from the Aristocraft trucks and Gauge 1 Kadee couplers were mounted on a .060 inch styrene plate as shown..

Underside Detail

Hint: Thin double sided tape can be used to mount components for a test fit or while they are being drilled.

Finally, the old brake wheel and shaft were removed from the other railings. Splash guards were cut from brass sheet and soldered inside the railings.

Hint: Work with the brass on the inside so the solder won't show.

Break Gear: I cut the frame for the new brake gear from many small pieces which tended to come apart as a new pieces were soldered on. After the fact, I realized it could have cut from just two pieces of 1/8 x 3/16 inch brass channel.

Caution: When I tied cutting the channel with a rotary tool, the cutting wheels kept breaking and flying all over the place. Then a razor saw was tried, but it kept binding. Finally a grinding stone in the rotary tool was used with success.

Rear View Break Gear

Adjustments were done with a small flat file as needed. Grind, file, bend and solder the frame pieces until you get the desired shape. Do not bend the top two tabs over yet, as the brake wheel mechanism and chain have to be inserted. Test the brake frame for fit. If correct, solder a brace (1/8 x 1/8 inch brass angle) to the back of the frame, so it will rest on the end of the van. Now solder a tab to the brake frame and then to the ladder. Then bend and solder a 1/16 brass rod to the top of the frame and onto other railing. This replaces the safety chain over the coupler. Remember to leave enough clearance for the brake wheel. The brake mechanism was made by disassembling an Aristocraft coupler. The round tabs were cut with a razor saw, then glued together. A small hole was drilled in the bottom and a length of fine chain glued in it. The little black insert on the back of the mechanism, previously held with a small screw, was filed down and glued in place. The hole in the front was enlarged with a drill and the USA Trains brake wheel installed. A larger brake wheel (Aristocraft) might look a little more prototypical, unfortunately I didn’t have any in my spares box.

Remove the railings from the van. Slide the brake mechanism down into the middle of the frame. Fold the top tabs over, solder and file smooth. Move the mechanism back up to the top and drop the chain through the hole in the bottom of the frame. Holding the chain taught, solder the hole closed. Cut the excess chain off and file smooth. Reinstall the railings on the van. Congratulations, the hard part is done.

Hint: If you want to modernize the brake gear on your Bachmann triple hoppers, their coupler tab can be cut and used to mount the brake wheel vertically.

Details: The grab irons on the cupola roof were changed and new ones added front and back. Toolboxes (not shown) were added to both sides of the van using a strip of plastic siding, stiffened with 1/8 x 1/8 styrene strips. Prototypical vans had only one toolbox, but I liked the balanced look better.

Cupola Details

CNR vans had only two side windows, but I did not go to work of filling in the third one, although I had bought the siding to do so. Similarly, the cupola should have only one large window on the side. Most of the windows should have frames, but I have not yet found a way of doing them properly. Detailing tape, brass inserts and paint are all being considered. The large side windows should also have small screens at the bottom.

Prototype (courtesy CNR SIG)

Painting: Local legend tells me that a CNR van of this era is Morency Orange, with brown frame, steps and roof. I found three colour pictures of vans in the 1950’s. Unfortunately, everyone showed a different colour of orange and brown. Furthermore, one appeared to have a gray roof, another black. So you have a lot of freedom here. I knew the colour was not as orange or red as later vans, so Floquil’s UP Light Orange was chosen for the body. The closest brown that I could find was Floquil’s Southern Boxcar Brown. The end result looks realistic.

Hint: Do not try to remove the windows for painting as they are glued in exceptionally well. A lot of damage can be avoided by simply masking over them and spraying them with Dullcoat to stop any orange under spray. If you are really adventurous, you could try masking off window frames. Practice on something else first though.

Letter Positioning

Lettering: Lettering for this model is available from CDS. Because of the course texture of the wood grain in the van siding, a coat of Dullcoat should before applied before the lettering. A coat of Dullcoat is also required between the green maple leaf and the white lettering which goes over top. If you don’t, one may rub off on the other. Ask me how I know. Fortunately I had a spare boxcar set and the maple leafs were the same. Finally, a finish coat of Dullcoat or your favorite finish should be used to protect the lettering and paint.

Ready to Run: Remove the masking, reassemble the model, turn on the lights and admire. You now have a truly handsome compliment to that transition era, CNR freight train ready to run. Here are a few extra nighttime pictures.

Night View 1

Night View 2

Night View 3

For more information contact paul.norton@pwgsc.gc.ca