where to start?

[NW Mailing List]

Kim

As Bob has already responded with the background on the cab, I'll give you a response on the question of brake linkage.

First, this is the closest thing to a real caboose kit I've seen, not totally gone, but about as close as you can get to it.

When the cab was trucked to the farm, which I am guessing was 30 or more years ago. Most likely due to clearances and loaded weight, normally the trucks were very likely removed. When the trucks are removed, the brake linkages are normally disconnected or parts cut off, and rarely, is the owner interested in putting it back the way it was, as the brakes serve little purpose today, with the cab placed on a piece of track never to roll there.

It can be a large restoration project with a lot of effort to reconstruct the body and interior. Depending on what the owner wants inside the cab, you've really got a clean slate, it could be virtually an interior you want. Most cabs as built with bunks and such, are not very room. When my father and I restored my Virginian 342, the bunks had been taken out of one end and a toilet installed in its place. I wanted an original interior, but adding the upper bunk really closed the cab off, giving it a real tunnel effect, so we opted to only install the bottom bench/bunk/toolbox there. It still looks really nice that way, and it make it a lot more open. 

These cabs had a tongue and groove interior and could look great. Personally, unless time and money was no object here, I'd make the exterior totally correct and do what ever you wanted on the inside. It would save a lot of time, effort and make it open for any creative reuse inside.

Best
Ken Miller

On Apr 13, 2014, at 4:57 PM, NW Mailing List wrote:


> Hello, everybody! 

> 

> Little did I know that attending a cookout at a local farm would bring me across a skeleton of a caboose!

> 

> I've attached photos.  Some may be of little consequence.  What I could make out on the frame was an old painted stencil "N&W 518067".

> 

> The trucks were stamped Southern Ry.

> 

> So, where do I start for more information? 

> 

> The owner is interested in its history, and then its structure.  How much restoration he does depends upon how well the original interior would lend itself to his needs. On the mechanical side I'm interested in the brake linkage.  Some of that seems to be removed and/or damaged.

> 

> Thanks,

> 

> Kim Hensley

> Huntsville, AL

> 

> 

> Moderator:

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