Nostalgia & History > WAG Wednesday: The End in Kodachrome

Bill Gibson was a thorough railfan photographer. He very faithfully paid photographic attention to the aft end of his trains when he could. But I haven’t given that aspect of his collection a whole lot of coverage in Wag Wednesday. So I thought it was time for ‘The End’, as seen through his camera. I just scrolled at random through my Gibson project files until I found a 6-pack of “cabeese” as Bill fondly called them. Enjoy, in no particular order…

1. MP transfer caboose at work in Kansas City, KS on March 1, 1959.

2. MKT 841 transfer(?) caboose at Rosedale, KS on April 24, 1960.

3. Freshly painted AT&SF 2264 (transfer waycar) in Argentine, KS on October 25, 1973.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/22 01:40 by santafe199.

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4. UP 2764 westbound & slogan equipped at Topeka, KS on May 6, 1957.

5. D&RGW 01476 sitting in North Yard(?) at Denver, CO on August 28, 1959.

6. CRI&P 17017 ready to roll eastbound at Council Bluffs, IA on June 13, 1959.
Six photos by William A. Gibson (WAG) Sr.

Thanks for looking the other end!
Lance Garrels (santafe199)
Art Gibson (wag216)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/22 01:42 by santafe199.

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Lance, a great collection of "crummy" photos. That's what the conductors I worked on the Rock Island called them.
Bill was a consummate photographer and you have his fine collection.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Lance:

Love that 6-pack, have quite a few cabeese shots, but this batch has a couple that I've never seen: MP & Katy

thanks for posting

Hack.

switchlock Wrote: > ...  Hack ... (you say...)

(snickering) Shouldn't that be: Hack Attack???

;^)

Sweet!

Thanks for posting these goodies. I must say, the MP offering in slot one, is well, odd looking.

I like the Rock Island logo on the cupola in slot 6.

First of all, six very fine images, thanks for posting. Always look forward to WAG Wednesday posts!

I'm thinking that Santa Fe waycar is actually a road car and not a transfer car. IIRC, the transfer cars
got yellow coupolas to make sure crews would keep them in that service and not send them over the road.
This particular car I believe to be in an interim scheme between the boxcar red paint and the billboard
red with yellow logo paint. I see the date is 1973 which indicates to me that this car had been freshley
repainted and not yet rebuilt. Actually, I could smell the fresh paint when I looked at the photo!

Thanks gain, Lance, for posting.

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/18 08:23 by ntharalson.

King_Coal Wrote: > ...  MP offering in slot one, is well, odd looking ...

It sure is! I'm not 100% sure, but I think Bill got this shot in the vicinity of Hickory St in the West Bottoms. It looks like a recent welding repair has been made to the curved grab-iron...

Lance/199

ntharalson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> First of all, six very fine images, thanks for
> posting. Always look forward to WAG Wednesday
> posts!
>
> I'm thinking that Santa Fe waycar is actually a
> road car and not a transfer car. IIRC, the
> transfer cars
> got yellow coupolas to make sure crews would keep
> them in that service and not send them over the
> road.
> This p;articular car I believe to be in an interim
> scheme between the boxcar red paint and the
> billboard
> red with yellow logo paint. I see the date is
> 1973 which indicates to me that this car had been
> freshley
> repainted and not yet rebuilt. Actually, I could
> smell the fresh paint when I looked at the photo!
>
>
> Thanks gain, Lance, for posting.
>
> Nick Tharalson,
> Marion, IA

The paint job, and the coil springs were for transfer cars. I worked up there in '75, and saw plenty of these on transfers. It was a road caboose at one time.

This is a neat collection of rear end devices---best of all kind because they usually waved back as you watched it roll bye. Pretty rare to find photos of UP in 4 digit--this one later was numbered 25364.
Brian Stevens

Great shots of all here Lance. Thanks to WAG, you bagged them well.
I remember when these Rock Island cabs hit the rails, brand new with shining red paint. A west bound drag had taken the passing siding in hometown of Haviland, KS, on the GSL, and the new International Car cab had stopped about 1/2 block west of the Main St. crossing. I ventured to it to see the refreshing outside and the conductor walked out the rear door and asked if I wanted to board and see the inside, so I danged sure didn't run away. I welcomed his offer and immediately climbed the rear steps. I remember how the paint on the inside had its new odor. I especially liked the aluminum trimmed windows against that red and black with silver ladders and grab irons. I always preferred this small font lettering compared to the later speed lettering. Atlas once offered a great HO model of this as shown.
Thanks again Lance for the showing!

All great but I am bowled over by that Katy caboose. Wow!

Great photos Lance, any more of UP with slogans? upkpfan

ntharalson Wrote:

> I'm thinking that Santa Fe waycar is actually a
> road car and not a transfer car.

The 2264 is a class Ce-5, one of 24 steel cupola cabooses that McMillan's Santa Fe Motive Power says the Topeka Shops reconditioned in 1970 for "transfer service at Kansas City." The Ce-5's didn't get cushion underframes nor most of the other betterments required of road pool cabooses, so they were not used in long-distance service.

> IIRC, the transfer cars got yellow coupolas to make sure crews would keep
> them in that service and not send them over the road.

A yellow cupola was an indication that a particular car was in local service, but was certainly not a requirement. The yellow cupolas, as far as I know, were only applied to local service cars that wore the Indian Red scheme with the big yellow circular emblem on the side, and there were several exceptions even then. A lot of Ce-5's and Ce-7's served out their careers as local and transfer cabooses in schemes like the one shown without yellow cupolas.

> This p;articular car I believe to be in an interim
> scheme between the boxcar red paint and the
> billboard red with yellow logo paint.

This scheme is actually newer than the "billboard" scheme, and appears to have been unique to the Ce-5's and a few unrefurbished steel cupola cabooses. It began to appear on freshly repainted Ce-5's around 1973, seven years after the first road-pool Ce-1 class car came out in the Indian Red scheme with the big yellow emblem.

> I see the date is 1973 which indicates to me that this car had been
> freshley repainted and not yet rebuilt.

The 2264 never would be rebuilt into a road pool caboose. It was renumbered 999971 in 1976, and would be retired by the early 1980's as a Ce-5.

Boy, is that Mopac caboose basic. Talk about crummy working conditions.

KG

Great shots Lance.....The shot of the ATSF hack brought back memories when I rode one as a passenger when I was about 10 years old between Garden City Kansas and Scott City, Kansas. It was a birthday present from my dad and my brother went with me as I was too young to ride by myself. Long story, but it is a memory I hope I always have. The shots of the old cabeese are fabulous.

Thanks Dennis and Evan for the additional information!

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Great stuff! I’ve never seen any photos of transfer cabooses like that Missouri Pacific one.

- Jeff