Atlas Model Railroad Co. Product Review

N SCALE WIDE-CUPOLA CABOOSE

It's starting to sound like a broken record, but let's begin by stating that yet another fine N scale freight car has joined the ranks on your dealer's shelves. This wide-cupola steel caboose is a little brother to the HO version that Atlas introduced in 1995. Atlas worked from drawings of a Detroit, Toledo & Ironton caboose in the June 1974 MODEL RAILROADER, but followed a Reading window arrangement with Stanray diagonal roof panels (correct for the Reading) rather than the X-type panels in the drawings.

Although it looks distinctively modern, International introduced this caboose way back in 1953 and built hundreds of them for dozens of railroads between then and the late 1980's when end-of-train devices began bumping caboosed off the ends of trains.

International's wide-cupola design was a hit because it combined the down-the-car-tops view from a traditional cupola with the down-the-sides perspective of a bay window. These caboosed were built with varying cupola locations, roof panels, window arrangements, and other details to match each customer's order. Also, some railroads (the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe for example) built their own caboosed that were quite similar. Early versions were built with running boards but those were being left off by the late 1960's.

The model's basic dimensions checked out closely with MR drawings. The painting and lettering on our samples was excellent. The car comes with window glazing - a real plus. The detail is exceptional, most notably the end railings. These are unpainted but cast in colors to match the bodies. They do have a bit of the plastic shine, but they're pinned to the ends and can be pulled off easily should you want to remove them for painting. I won't on mine, because even a thin coat of paint would thicken the delicate detail. I would, however, paint the smokejack and brakewheels to match the rest of the car.

The car, made in China, comes ready-to-run. Should you wish to disassemble it, first free the tops of the end railings. The body can then be pulled off easily.

The car weighs 1 ounce, making it very close to the National Model Railroad Association recommendation of .5 ounces of initial weight plus .15 ounces for each inch of car length. The wheelsets are one-piece plastic castings that checked out perfectly against my NMRA standards gauge. They turn freely in the plastic sideframes.

The couplers are body-mounted. You can buy the cars with either Rapido-type or Micro-Trains couplers. Should you buy the Rapido-equipped caboose and decide to convert later, the draft-gear box is designed to accept M-T no. 1111 couplers, and substitute pocket covers are provided to hold them in.

This fine model is a welcome addition to today's "new generation" N scale cars.