Steam-era alternatives to the NE-6 Caboose model

[nw-modeling-list at nwhs.org]

The N&W mainly used the CF,CG and CH class cabeese behind your Y-6b.
There were a few other odd classes but the majority of cabeese would
have been these two classes.

CF's were originally built starting in 1914.  CG's were all-steel
versions of the steel-underframed CF and CH's were modified versions of
CG's.  In profile they all looked the same and virtually were.  The CF's
had the distinctive vertical wood siding.  CG's and CH's had a
horizontal division of the steel side with a riveted overlap.

N&W caboose classes are like the N&W hopper cars, shorter and taller
(looking) than any other railroad's classes.  Makes 'em pretty difficult
to kit bash except in a major way- virtual scratch-built.  

In HO brass there were CF's and CG"s(?) by PFM (?) for the 1970's(?)(
pretty good), CF's , CG's and CH's (?) by Overland in the early 1990's
(very nice)and Division Point CF's, CG's, CH's and C-1's and C-3's
(Worth the money if you had it!)and I forget what else.

In kits in HO, the original CF was made by Quality Craft as a wood kit
with pot metal castings.  This product was sold to Gloorcraft who cannot
get the metal castings anymore in the US (EPA) and stopped production
about 1996 or so.  Not a bad kit and the metal parts are good.  There
are a bunch of them still waiting to be built on modeler's shelves.

The AMB laser cut CF kit is still available through the Commissary.
Also a pretty good kit but still the basic wood kit.

Looks like the PMC kit in plastic is coming October 2006. 

What have I forgotten?

A further note on the NE-6 caboose.  The W&LE apparently designed their
caboose from the New Haven predecessor of the NE-6 (NE-5?).  The NKP
then designed an improved version of that W&LE class after the lease of
the W&LE by the NKP.  These were the N&W C-8 and C-9 classes if I
remember the class numbers right.

G Rolih
Thanking the authors Jim Brewer and Robert G Bowers for their good N&W
caboose book.