The prototype. Nearly 500 similar steel cabooses were built by CP Rail’s Angus Shop in Montreal between 1968 and 1981. The specific prototypes for this model, cabooses numbered 434469-434518, were built in 1974, and numbers 434519-434570 entered service in 1975. They were used system-wide until the early 1990s.
These modern cabooses provided a safe working environment for the trainmen. Each car had a cushion underframe, roller bearing trucks, electric lights, and a pair of oil heaters. The interior was designed to minimize potential injuries in case of a sudden start or stop.
The model. The HO scale model matches the prototype’s dimensions. It’s a scale 39′-6″ long and 9′-3″ wide at the lower eaves; over the cupola its 10′-6″ wide and 15′-7″ tall. The car’s cushion underframe is 42′-3″ long.
This caboose (or “van” in parts of Canada) continues the attention to fine detail that Rapido established with its passenger car line. The plastic carbody contains 202 parts, including the interior fittings and window glazing, which are shown in an exploded isometric drawing in the instruction booklet. Two of the cupola side windows operate.
Concealed printed-circuit boards use track power to illuminate the marker lights and both ends so only the proper interior fittings are visible through the windows. The end platforms and steps have authentic etched-metal open gratings, and the marker lamps are illuminated with fiber-optic strands.
The underbody detailing is as complete as any contest model I’ve ever seen, including the simulated cushion underframe. Besides the usual air brake hardware, you’ll also find the entire plumbing system and the foundation brake gear. None of these items move, but they certainly look authentic.
The running gear includes Rapido’s own body-mounted Macdonald-Cartier die-cast metal magnetic knuckle couplers, which are Kadee compatible. The coupler height on our sample car was about .010″ low. Adding an appropriate Kadee kingpin washer under each truck resolved this minor issue.
The model has the correct Barber-Bettendorf roller-bearing caboose trucks. These trucks have rigid acetal plastic frames with concealed electrical contacts. The wheelsets have needle-point axles pressed into an insulated tube, so all eight wheels collect current for the lights. This combination is free-rolling and matches the National Model Railroad Association gauge.
The Rapido caboose weighs four ounces, which is close to the NMRA’s Recommended Practice 20.1 (one ounce plus ½-ounce per inch of length).
The model is smoothly painted in the proper CP Rail color scheme. The color breaks are sharply defined, and the printed lettering is cleanly applied, straight, and opaque.
This new caboose is an impressive model.
Price: $60
Manufacturer
Rapido Trains Inc.
445 Edgeley Boulevard, Unit 1
Concord, Ontario, L4K 4G1, Canada
www.rapidotrains.com
Road names: CP Rail; Algoma Central; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Burlington Northern; Chessie System; St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt); Conrail; CSX; Delaware & Hudson; Denver & Rio Grande Western; Essex Terminal; Great Northern (red); Milwaukee Road; Missouri-Kansas-Texas; New Brunswick Southern; Northern Pacific; Ontario Northland; Rock Island; Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo; undecorated.
Era: 1968 to early 1990s
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