my ESPEE MODELERS ARCHIVE

California's Railroad to the U.S. 1861 - 1996

Southern Pacific
and Texas & New Orleans Caboose

Class C-30-4

bay window type

SP #1235-1269

T&NO #500-514

50 units built

© Dick Leonhardt

see also: C-30-4 Photos for more images

see also: C-30-4 Walkaround

C-30-4's were bought from AC&F in 1947 for both SP #1235-1269 and T&NO #500-514, these were the first 'bay window' types. These were 2' 3" longer than the C-40-3, 8' 8" wide over the body and 10' 8" wide over the bay-window. The body showed exposed rivets, but the bay was flush? riveted.

The T&NO cabooses still in service at the time of the merger (1961), were renumbered into vacant numbers between #374 and #419. This was not a sequential renumbering, so a study of the caboose maintenance cards at CSRM would need to be done to find out which one was which...

Originally built with a small smokejack, roofwalks, end ladders, large toolbox under the bay, all these things changed over the years as they were overhauled and upgraded. Marker lights went through all the variations, some even got the marker light above the end doors. These had a much lower bay than the later C-40-4 class.

Delivered in all-over mineral red paint with 'vermillion' ends... these received the Daylight orange end walls as per the 1955 specification and Daylight orange bay ends as per the 1961 spec. Orange stepwells was a sign of a post 1980 overhaul.

As their trucks were never upgraded to roller bearings, they spent their later life in local service.