Great Northern 30 foot Steel Cabooses (X199, X229, X250 to X270, X271 to X294)
The Great Northern Railway built almost all of its cabooses in-house at the St. Cloud shops just west of St. Cloud, Minnesota. This series of cabooses was built between August 1941 and October 1951. They were constructed completely of steel and measured 30 feet long, 11' 5" to the roof, 14' 6 3/4" to the cupola roof, 10'2" wide, and weighed 57,1000 lbs. The majority of these cars were built after 1945 once world war II was over and steel rationing was over. The cars were equipped with Bettendorf swing motion trucks, 33" wheels, and an underside mounted tool box. The ends of the cars were outfitted with steel handrails, brakes, and handrails.
The modern cars were painted Scarlet Red with red and black end platforms and under bodies. The entire body, including the underside of the roof extensions and end fascias, end platforms, railings and filler panels, ladders and extensions, tool box, and all grab irons, were painted red. Others had black painted end platforms, safety railings and filler panels, ladders and extensions, tool boxes, frame side rails and end grab irons.
All lettering was of the modern slanted-serif type, except for the company name in the herald, which was the standard block type. Each cars unit number appeared 6 times, twice on each side at the corners of the body, and once on each cupola end panel approximately between the windows. The large herald was centered below the cupola. The radio-equipped cars had that logo with a lighting bolt separating the words "Radio Equipped" applied on the long end of the car below the middle two windows. The appropriate safety slogan (chosen by the last digit of the unit number) was placed 6-inches above the lower leading edge of the body side panel. The safety first logo surrounded the herald on the right filler panel on the end platforms. Cars selectively had white reflective "Scotchlite" discs applied to the bottom leading edge of the sides of the cars. Each tailgate filler plate had four or five white safety stripes diagonally (from left top to bottom right) applied. Each curved side grabiron had four, five, or no white safety bands applied.
These cabooses had the same interior floor plan as their 30' wooden counterparts (Series X198, X200 to X228, X230 to X249). Inside they had four bunks, clothing lockers, an ice box, wash basin, two desks, coal stove, and a toilet. Almost all cars in this series were equipped with radios and as-such would have the standard "Radio Equipped" logo on the side of the car.
According to the Great Northern Caboose Roster in March of 1970:
Models
Overland Models Inc. (Ajin Precision Manufaturing)
The model in my possession is that of X282, with black end platforms, rails, roof, and under body. The model comes painted with the modern (Scarlet) Red paint scheme and accurate lettering. The paint is sharp, with clean lines and no blurring. Included with the model is the appropriate decals to add the safety lettering on the caboose by number. The car is well detailed and the carbody is dimensionally accurate. All features of this caboose have been reproduced including the specific filler plates on the end platforms, GN Specific tool boxes, and appropriate roof walks. Also included in with the model are brake lines, coupler cut levers, and side mirrors for the cupola.
References
Thompson, Scott R. Great Northern Equipment Color Pictorial - Book Three. Four Ways West Publications, 2000.
Porzig, Jack. Great Northern Caboose Cars, 30' Caboose Cars NOs. X-198, X-200 to X-228, X-230 to X249 (Wood Exterior). Reference Sheet NO. 168. Great Northern Railway Historical Society (GNRHS). September 1990.
Ringnalda, Ben. Great Northern Empire - Then and Now. http://www.greatnorthernempire.net/. 2005
The Great Northern Railway built almost all of its cabooses in-house at the St. Cloud shops just west of St. Cloud, Minnesota. This series of cabooses was built between August 1941 and October 1951. They were constructed completely of steel and measured 30 feet long, 11' 5" to the roof, 14' 6 3/4" to the cupola roof, 10'2" wide, and weighed 57,1000 lbs. The majority of these cars were built after 1945 once world war II was over and steel rationing was over. The cars were equipped with Bettendorf swing motion trucks, 33" wheels, and an underside mounted tool box. The ends of the cars were outfitted with steel handrails, brakes, and handrails.
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| GN X252 in Caboose tracks at Hillyard, WA. Photo by Jerry Quinn |
All lettering was of the modern slanted-serif type, except for the company name in the herald, which was the standard block type. Each cars unit number appeared 6 times, twice on each side at the corners of the body, and once on each cupola end panel approximately between the windows. The large herald was centered below the cupola. The radio-equipped cars had that logo with a lighting bolt separating the words "Radio Equipped" applied on the long end of the car below the middle two windows. The appropriate safety slogan (chosen by the last digit of the unit number) was placed 6-inches above the lower leading edge of the body side panel. The safety first logo surrounded the herald on the right filler panel on the end platforms. Cars selectively had white reflective "Scotchlite" discs applied to the bottom leading edge of the sides of the cars. Each tailgate filler plate had four or five white safety stripes diagonally (from left top to bottom right) applied. Each curved side grabiron had four, five, or no white safety bands applied.
These cabooses had the same interior floor plan as their 30' wooden counterparts (Series X198, X200 to X228, X230 to X249). Inside they had four bunks, clothing lockers, an ice box, wash basin, two desks, coal stove, and a toilet. Almost all cars in this series were equipped with radios and as-such would have the standard "Radio Equipped" logo on the side of the car.
According to the Great Northern Caboose Roster in March of 1970:
- X199 was still in service
- X229 was still in service
- 23 of 23 cabooses from series X250 to X272 were still in service
- 18 of 19 cabooses from series X274 to X292 were still in service
- X273
- An unknown caboose in the series X274-X292
- X293
- X294
Models
Overland Models Inc. (Ajin Precision Manufaturing)
The model in my possession is that of X282, with black end platforms, rails, roof, and under body. The model comes painted with the modern (Scarlet) Red paint scheme and accurate lettering. The paint is sharp, with clean lines and no blurring. Included with the model is the appropriate decals to add the safety lettering on the caboose by number. The car is well detailed and the carbody is dimensionally accurate. All features of this caboose have been reproduced including the specific filler plates on the end platforms, GN Specific tool boxes, and appropriate roof walks. Also included in with the model are brake lines, coupler cut levers, and side mirrors for the cupola.
References
Thompson, Scott R. Great Northern Equipment Color Pictorial - Book Three. Four Ways West Publications, 2000.
Porzig, Jack. Great Northern Caboose Cars, 30' Caboose Cars NOs. X-198, X-200 to X-228, X-230 to X249 (Wood Exterior). Reference Sheet NO. 168. Great Northern Railway Historical Society (GNRHS). September 1990.
Ringnalda, Ben. Great Northern Empire - Then and Now. http://www.greatnorthernempire.net/. 2005
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