Then if that’s the case, why are so many utterly fantastic caboose models making their way to market? Guess there must be some life in these old dinosaurs after all!
USA Trains continues to set new benchmarks for the large scale crowd. The latest is the level of quality and detail that has gone into making these terrific cars.
Offered in extended vision and bay window versions, the cars are well built, with plastic bodies and couplers and metal wheels. Want detail? These cars have it! I’m talking about safety chains on the car decks; metal ladders, handrails, and grab irons, and even supports for the car’s smokestack. The decks and catwalks are intricate and have see-through gratings.
The cars windows are frosted. I was surprised that the cars didn’t have decorated interiors or even figures in the windows (a feature USA Trains includes in its locomotives), but this is something that with a little creativity, you can do yourself.
What was most impressive was the variation in the design for the bay-window caboose. The NYC’s version of these cars has a noticeably smaller bay that doesn’t extend to the roof of the car. USA Trains offers its version with a bay that is reduced in depth and successfully mimics the Central prototype. Not bad for attention to detail.
USA Trains always picks a great array of popular road names and the cabooses look convincingly realistic. The bay-window and extended-vision versions feature flawless, good-looking graphics. The paint is neatly applied and all lettering, no matter how small, is crisp, clean, and readable. Especially notable are the small nomenclature markings that reveal information such as weight and build date. Even if your favorite road never had a bay-window or extended-vision caboose, the colorful treatment of these may make you wish it had!
The cars have end-of-train devices that signal their presence. The cars also have battery backups that keep the lights blinking even when the track power is off for a short time. Neat.
The bay-window caboose is available undecorated, or painted and lettered for the railroads Atlantic Coast Line, Burlington Route, Chessie System, Chicago & North Western, Conrail, CSX, Erie-Lackawanna, New York Central, Pennsylvania, Santa Fe, Southern, Southern Pacific, and Union Pacific. Another version comes decorated in Pepsi red and white.
The extended-vision caboose is available undecorated, in Christmas colors, and in Amtrak, BNSF, Burlington Route, Chessie, Conrail, CSX, Denver & Rio Grande, Great Northern, New Haven, New York Central, Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, and Union Pacific road names.
USA Trains cabooses are well-built and will make the rear of your large scale train look as good as the business end! Be sure to check them out!
