So, in 1985, I started to build my own 1:32 scale rolling stock and a caboose was high on my list of priorities. I chose a modern, standard design using welded steel construction. Several railroads, including Detroit, Toledo & Ironton in my area, still use cabooses similar to my model even though most trains now run without cabooses.

You could build a version of my model even if you model in a scale other than 1:32. OR has put scale length and width dimensions next to the actual size dimensions so you may enlarge the drawings to whatever size you want.

Finally, scratchbuilding requires no special skills. In fact, I consider it 99-percent imagination and 1-percent skill. Just take your time, imagine how the car will look, and put the model together one piece at a time.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Working with plastic is a treat. To cut styrene, just score it with a hobby knife and snap off the piece you want. Then sand off the ridge along the edge of the cut. To glue styrene, use a syringe-type applicator or a small brush to run liquid solvent-type cement such as Testor's Liquid Cement for plastic along the edge of the joint. Capillary action draws in the liquid, it evaporates within seconds, and you are done.

For soldering, use a 25 or 30 watt iron. Heat the parts until they are hot enough to melt the solder, then let it flow around the joint. Some parts require tinning. That means coating them with solder. To join tinned pieces, just put them together and heat.

Painting requires a room with plenty of ventilation. You also must decide what color your model should be and what road name you want on it. Then you should wash the model in warm, soapy water, let it dry thoroughly, and apply the paint with a spray can or an airbrush. Styrene will accept virtually any kind of paint. Since very few 1:32 scale decals or dry transfers are available, you will either have to contact one of OR's advertisers for a custom set or, as I did, buy O scale decals. Now let's go to work.

THE FLOOR, SIDES, AND ENDS

Begin construction with the floor. Cut a 3 1/2 by 24 inch sheet of .040-inch thick styrene to the size and shape. Then trim it to a length of 13 5/8 inches. We will cut the leftover piece into the two ends of the caboose so don't lose it!

Cut out the stairwells carefully to avoid breaking off the thin pieces at each end. Score and snap a pair of strips of .040-inch thick styrene each 11 1/2 inches long and 4 1/4 inches high for the sides. Be sure the sides are square with one another. Then, as you did with the floor, copy the roof line and the cupola lines onto each piece, again being sure everything is square. Next, draw in the windows. Note: The windows on the right and left sides are different. Also remember the two sides should be mirror images when you lay out the center windows.

When you have drawn in all the lines, trim the sides to shape and cut out the windows. The score and snap method only works for some cuts. Here's how to do the others: First cut along the vertical edges of the cupola repeatedly until the knife breaks through the plastic. Then score the horizontal roof line a few times and snap off the excess parts. Cut out the windows with repeated knife strokes, too. When you have broken through on all four sides, press out the centers and clean up the edges with a file.

Adding the scribe lines is easy. Set the straightedge along the pencil line you drew, score it once with the sharp edge of your hobby knife, then turn the knife upside down and score it again, just deeply enough to represent the panel. The final scribe line runs along the bottom length of the side. When you are done, sand all the edges smooth.

Finally, turn over the sides and draw a line the entire length of each inside wall, .040-inch above the bottom edge. That line represents the thickness of the floor.

Next, the ends. Now is when you will need that piece of the floor you saved. The height of the body should be 3.46 inches-.040-inch shorter than the sides because the ends sit on top of the floor. After you have cut each end to size, choose one end, measure 3/16-inch down the centerline from the top, and draw a horizontal line from side to side. Draw a line from the centerline to where the line meets each side, score each line, and snap off the excess. That forms the roof peak.

Cut out the window openings and drill holes for the grab irons using a #65 bit. When you finish one end, use it as a template for the other. When they match (and remember to keep everything square), smooth the rough edges with sandpaper.

THE CUPOLA AND ROOF FORMERS

The cupola is small enough to cut out of scrap plastic. Cut the ends from a pair of 2 x 3 1/2 inch rectangles. You may use a body end as a template for the cupola peaks. Then draw in the window openings and cut them out as you did the body sides and ends. Finally, make 5 roof formers from .060-inch thick styrene. Notice three measure 3 1/2- by 1/2-inches and fit inside the body. The two others (the end peaks) are .080-inch wider (the combined thickness of the two side walls) and fit over the end platforms. Those end peaks also have a strip of .125-inch square styrene along the inside as the plan indicates. Finally, sand the peaks so all have exactly the same profile.

ASSEMBLING THE BODY AND THE END STEPS

Now it's time to assemble the body. It is crucial to assemble everything square. Fit one side and one end together, lining up the tops. (Remember, the sides extend .040-inch lower than the ends.) You may find it helpful to assemble the unit upside down. Reinforce the corner joint with .125-inch square posts the same length as the ends (not the sides). Reinforce the side with Plastruct RT12 3/8-inch square rectangular tubing. Cement it just above the line you drew along the bottom edge of the sides. Add the remaining end and side, add corner and side reinforcements and, when you are certain everything is square, allow the body to dry thoroughly. Do not glue the body to the floor.

When the body has dried, set it on the floor, turn the car upside down, and mark holes for screws along the edge of the floor. You may use the ones that come with the Model Die Casting trucks since we won't use those screws to mount the trucks. Drill holes of the correct size through the floor and into the 3/8-square tubing. Eventually the floor will screw onto the body.

Cut a .125-inch square strip of styrene the width of the caboose and glue it under the narrow strip at each end of the floor. The square strips will support the sides of the end steps. Then cut four shorter pieces of the strip the same width as the top of the end step sides. They will support the inside of the end steps. Cut the end step sides themselves from .040-inch thick styrene. Trial fit each to its respective location, then cement it in place. After the joints dry, cut Plastruct A-8 angle for the steps themselves. Take your dimensions from the top inside measurement of each stairwell, cut one step at a time, and file it to fit. Do all the top steps first and work your way down to the bottom. The first fits under the floor, the second fits beneath the first, the third under the second.

MOUNTING THE TRUCKS

If you never got around to drilling the pilot holes in the floor for the trucks, drill them now. Use a 1/16-inch bit. Cut two 1 1/2 inch squares of .060-inch thick styrene and glue them to the top of the floor over the pilot holes (so, when you add the body, they will be inside it). Let them dry thoroughly.

In the meantime, assemble the trucks. I used Model Die Casting 5510 Bettendorfs (about the only trucks available with anywhere near the correct appearance) and removed the coupler tang because I body mount my couplers You should, too, if you want your car to look more realistic. Replace the screws MDC provides for attaching the sideframes with 2-56 nuts and bolts; that will keep them tight.

Back to the floor: Drill a 1/4-inch hole through the small pilot hole. Then cut two Plastruct B12 3/8-inch beams to fit the length of the car to a line between the inside edge of the stairwells and cement them next to the 1/4-inch hole so a length of 1/4-inch Plastruct TB8 tubing can pass between them.

Cut two 1 inch square pieces of .060-inch thick styrene for the trucks to ride on, center one over each 1/4-inch hole, and cement them onto the beams. Let the assembly dry thoroughly. Then continue each 1/4-inch hole through the .060 plates.

Push a length of 1/4-inch diameter TB8 tubing through each hole, slide a truck over each tube until its bolster rests on the .060 plates, mark each tube at the truck height, remove the truck, and pull out the tube. Then drill out the center of the tube with a 5/32-inch bit so you can tap it for an 8 x 3/8-inch screw. Finally, cut each tube to length and glue it solidly to the floor; the assembly must be strong. Let everything dry for 24 hours and mount the trucks.

HARDWARE

Here is where you put a square peg in a round hole! Begin with the end railings. Measure the underside of the end roof formers and, on each end, drill 1/16-inch pilot holes where the three long vertical posts will go. Then enlarge the holes to 5/64-inch so the K&S 1/16-inch square brass tubing will fit. Slip three sections of tubing through the holes from the top until they touch the end platform, be certain the posts are at 90-degrees to the floor, mark their locations, and drill the holes. Avoid drilling the holes all the way through the floor. The brass should seat into the floor.

Mark and drill a hole in the floor for the fourth (short) post, measure a piece of brass for that post, and insert it.

To add the upper horizontal rail, mark one vertical post, use a #67 bit to drill the hole, and feed a length of 1/32-inch diameter brass rod through the hole. Use the end to mark where you should drill the two other holes, drill them, insert the rod, solder, cut it to length, and clean up the ends with a file. Then add the shorter horizontal rails. Add the chain, and the end rails are complete.

The body hardware is much easier. Just bend the grab irons to shape from 1/32-inch diameter rod, drill holes in the appropriate spots, insert the grab irons, and add a drop of CA (superglue) to each end from the inside.

THE ROOF

The roof consists of two sections of .020-inch thick styrene sheet. The overall width is 3.75 inches, so first cut a strip of styrene to that width and longer than the entire roof. Then turn the caboose upside down on the piece you just cut and mark the actual size of the longer section of roof, leaving no more than 1/32-inch of overhang beyond the end former. Lightly score a line down the center (1.875 inches from the ends) and bend-do not break-the roof along that line. Lay it on the roof formers. Repeat the operation to lay out the shorter roof section. Cement them in place over the formers and sides. Let the assembly dry. Then cut, file, and sand off all the overhang.

Build the cupola roof the same way. It measures 2 3/4 by 3 3/4 inches. Leave the overhang on the cupola.

Reinforcement panels give the roof its strength. Cut them from .015-inch thick styrene. A jig might speed up the operation considerably. You also must add Plastruct T1 3/64-inch T-bracing where the plan indicates. The T-bracing is the width of the caboose and if you lightly score its midpoint and bend it, it will straddle the roof peak. Follow the plan carefully with cutting out and cementing the reinforcement panels. If you reverse their directions, the smokejack will fall in the wrong place.

ADDING COUPLERS

The car needs end sills. Cut two from a sheet of .040-inch thick styrene and cement one to the .125-inch square beam at each end of the car. If you use hook/loop couplers, just cut out the center part of the end sill and the loop should pass right through. If you prefer Kadee® couplers, as I do, you must determine the coupler height before you go on. Fortunately, Kadee now offers a height gauge. Use it to mark the position of the draft gear box and remove a rectangle of plastic the appropriate size. If you remove too much, fill in the gap with scrap plastic. Then assemble Kadee® 820 couplers, place the draft gear boxes in the opening and, if necessary, remove or add material until they fit. Tap a hole through the floor so you can thread in a 2-56 hex head bolt and mount the couplers.

FINAL DETAILS

Position the smokejack on the roof. Build it up from Evergreen 226 and 228 (3/16- and 1/4-inch diameter) telescoping tubing. The long vertical section and the top tube of the smokejack are 3/16-inch diameter. The base is 1/4-inch tubing and fits through the hole in the roof. You should cement a reinforcing plate of .060-inch thick styrene under the roof before you drill the hole.

The smokejack is 2 1/2 inches tall. The length of the top tube is .42-inch. When it is in place, the top of the smokejack should be just above the cupola roof. Drill a 1/32-inch diameter hole through the stack and another just above the cupola window, insert one end of a length of 1/32-inch diameter brass rod into cupola hole, insert the other into the hole in the smokejack, and cement all the parts together.

I made the brake staff housing from a 1.7 inch length of K&S 1/4-inch square brass channel. File a notch .35-inch high halfway through the channel. Drill a pair of holes to clear 00-90 screws through both the channel and the car's end sill. Drill another hole the same size at the top end of the housing so you can attach the brakewheel. Then attach the brake staff housing. I used a Trackside Details TD-24 brakewheel, tapped the center for the 00-90 screw, and turned it onto the screw protruding from the top of the housing. Frame the doors with Evergreen .020- by .156-inch styrene strip. My doorknobs are 2-56 screws.

Paint the model whatever color or colors are appropriate for the railroad you want to model. After you have applied the lettering, airbrush the entire model with Testor's Dullcote to protect it. When you have no more paint or clear coat to add, cement clear window glazing to the inside walls.

If you want to add an operating flasher, cut holes for mounting an L.E.D. on the cupola. The on-off switch and battery holder should sit on the center of the floor. And be sure to keep the wires from the L.E.D. to the battery and circuit long enough to allow you to disassemble your caboose for maintenance. At this point, you should screw the body and the floor together and the caboose is complete. I hope your caboose looks good and you had fun building it. I would like to dedicate my own caboose and this article to the memory of Mac (1926-1990), who showed me how.

ROOF FLASHER

The circuit is very common and easy to build. Use the socket to avoid soldering to the chip itself. Follow the diagram. It will work.

PARTS LIST (All parts from Radio Shack)
(1.) 1 ea. 470 µf capacitor # 272-957
(2.) 1 ea. L.E.D. #276-066
(3.) 1 ea. socket #276-1995
(4.) 1 ea. IC #276-1705
(5.) 1 ea. SPST switches #275-645
(6.) 1 ea. battery holder #270-385
(7.) 2 ea. size "C" battery #23-581

TOOLS

X-Acto hobby knife with #11 blade
Small modeler's square
Steel straightedges (6 inches to 24 inches)
Sandpaper, 220 grit and 400 grit wet/dry
Razor saw and miter box
Files
Plastic solvent-type cement (Testor's or Plastruct)
Pliers, both standard and long-nose
Caliper

PARTS

Evergreen Scale Models Styrene
.040-inch thick sheet for body and floor
.020-inch thick sheet for roof
.060-inch thick sheet for roof formers and fill
.015-inch thick sheet for roof reinforcing panels
.125- x .188-inch strip for fill and trim
.125-inch square strip
Plastruct
T1 3/64-inch T-strip
TB8 1/4-inch square beams
RT12 3/8-inch square tubing
B12 3/8-inch beams
A8 1/4-inch angle
K&S Brass
1/16-inch square tubing
1/32-inch diameter rod
1/4-inch square channel
1 pr. Model Die Casting 5510 Bettendorf Trucks