Відео

I have the SP sound caboose from athearn. I like the lights, sound ? don't know if I will ever use it either. Mine its just a whistle. Supposedly you can add the caboose to your train with Cvs snd can hear the airline charge up or bleed off. i haven' t tried that yet. Athearn did a good job on this model and yours too.

I have put lights in cabooses, but all the other stuff seems to be for the dcc nut. Nice review.

not gonna lie, i spent a lotta time riding and working outta UP pool cabooses back in the day. thx for this vidya

Well I know I miss the caboose at the end of the freight trains

The black square with the yellow dot dates the caboose to 1978. There was a bad run of wheels at the time and the FRA mandated that all such wheels be replaced. This mark indicates that the car had been inspected. The marks were used only one 70-ton or lighter 33" wheels. The "P" on the cupola indicates this car was intended for Pool Service, which also explains the red-green lights there.

Dan, do these decoders not have the flange squeals that the soundcar decoders have? Is it not a soundtraxx unit or something else?

Is the brown roof authentic? Didn't U.P. cabooses have Harbor Mist Gray on the roof?

Great review. I bought an Athearn caboose with sound too I never thought that had sound until I heard a caboose make the same air whistle sound from NS.

Looks cool! Sounds cool! Couplers high!? Dang it! But still an amazing caboose!

Hey Dan. First : Many thanks for sharing with us. I didn't know that there was sound cabooses so I learn something from you today ! OK.I'd say that the caboose is AMAZING ! The overall look, the markers, the detail parts, see thru steps, sound features, etc... But (you know there's always a but with me) I saw a few things I didn't like. When you did a close up on the side banner, I saw that left window was like not straight glued from the inside. This could been avoid by gluing it properly. Hope it's the only one like this. But the worst I saw was the end handrails that seemed bended on the inside at one end. It's like the walkway end car is longer than the roof end at that point. Strange because it seems OK at the other end. For me, it's unacceptable. I don't know how they didn't take care of it at the factory when they were engineering the model. I'm not surprised... it's an Athearn-Genesis model. That's the kind of thing you don't see on Tangent super detailed caboose. I hate to say it but Athearn haven't reached that level of excellence yet. I'm only giving it a 6 out of 10. Thanks again and keep on your good work.

What kinda noise does a caboose make??? Thanks for the review. Don't think I'd ever pay $129.00 for a caboose. If I want to light one up, I can do that without any hassle. Cheers from eastern TN

At that price! I will buy a athearn kit, old bachmann perhaps and get to work ....that's nuts why anyone would pay that much....

Did they include any air hose detail or conductor figure to simulate where the air whistle is coming from?

So all the sound this caboose has( going off other rail practices) is true to form. The reason behind it is for use as a shoving platform on long shove moves. If do too the railroad track set up if it’s impossible to have the locomotive up front during a switching move and the move is several miles with crossings along the way the caboose essentially takes over warning drivers of the on coming train. Given this little detail ( and I am no Up expert) the caboose itself maybe more modeled for the latter years when cabooses ( like today) are essentially just shoving platforms. But it doesn’t have the plated over windows so I am unsure. My personal opinion is although extremely detailed and well modeled it comes a point of when is enough enough on spending over 100 bucks for a caboose when you can detail a very very nice stand in model for half the price and save your money for a ST locomotive.

The biggest miss with having these cars being sound equipped in my opinion is having some way to detect if the car is in motion to have some flange squeal and other noises while the caboose is in motion.

Great review, Dan. Just as an informational note, the caboose also has "clickerty-clack" wheel sounds (the "speed" of the clack is controlled by throttle setting; works well when the car is consistedwith a loco), as well as hand brake, air brake, and emergency brake sounds. Enjoy!

Thank you for another great review!

The caboose sound not mentioned that I remember most was a pinging metallic sound they made as they dealt with the dynamics of the train forces and the track conditions.

All of them I have bought were without sounds. I have a friend with sound versions, to me it's just a gimmick.

a very nice model... interesting that this series of cabooses was made in 1975... oddly enough, a mere 7 years later, the contractual elimination of the caboose would be outlined in article X of the UTU 1982 national agreement... also, there were many slogans that the UP applied to their cabooses... they were submitted by UP employees... concerning the noises cabooses make... i was a switchman for the CNW/UP and frequently used one the old CNW cabooses as a shoving platform... it had the pulley and generator on it but that stuff was LONG since been inoperable by that time(mid 90s)... it did have the working whistle though... but mainly the only noise i heard was the clickety clack and rolling sounds of the wheels and as far as a bell???... well the caboose we used didn't have one... and while i can't speak for ALL cabooses, i'd say that MOST do not, nor have they ever had a bell

Didn't Caboose's have a pulley coming off an Axle that turned an Alternator to make DC power to a battery bank of some sort instead of having an onboard Generator ?

Can't help thinking that basically everyon wants to buy the no-sound version, so that sells out and then people think, "OK, I'll get the sound one because it's in stock."

Damn, never visited the Germans from Russia Museum during the time I was dating somebody from Lincoln, NE. 😂 Does seem strange that they'd have had it, though -- hard to see the connection to their organization, not really any room for it on their property and certianly not in their building. As you say, it's not visible on Google Street View, and I checked the old Street View images, too. Edit: I Googled ' "germans from russia" society "caboose" ' with the quotes. First hit was a 2003 post to the Railway Preservation News forum saying that they have a UP caboose which they're trying to sell. Another hit is a scan of a newspaper article in the University of Nebraska Lincoln archives, which says that the Society intended to turn the caboose into a museum about railroading, because lots of Germans from Russia worked on the railroads when they came to the US. The scan includes a photo of the caboose being craned onto the property and is dated December 28th, 1988. I found the Union Pacific Historical Society's 2010 list of display cabooses: it describes this one as "Lincoln? NE UP 25747 Steel, cupola, Germans from Russia Museum, 631 D Street, GONE TO?" implying it wasn't there by 2010 (actually, we already know that as the earliest Street View is 2009). 3:10 The window next to the banner isn't straight.

The prototype of this caboose was built in a town just south of my hometown of Findlay, Ohio...my father-in-law worked at International Car in Kenton, Ohio.

Great review

I got a couple of these from the first release at a train show a few years ago. Like you, I would have preferred the lights-only version but I didn’t preorder and at the time these were very hard to find. Even through I’m an SP/DRGW fan these are some of my favorite caboose designs. There are quite a few around East Texas on display in various conditions from decent to derelict. Nice review

Good review, Dan. These are pretty cool models; I have to give Athearn props for doing a DCC caboose. I bought the Genesis SP C-50 caboose with lights but no sound. I haven't taken it out of the box yet. Like you, my Centralia caboose is now expendable.

It's a great looking model, Dan! The sound is cool, and yes, it is expensive, but if you think about it, if you had to buy the model, the decoder, and the speaker separately, its actually much more cost effective to buy the model with the decoder already installed. Me personally, sound equipped rolling stock, isn't a "make or break" situation, since I tend to lean more towards lower end models because they're cheaper and more durable!

Always appreciate your clear, and consice reviews.

Dan, Nice review. I feel the same way about a sound equipped caboose. I doubt I would have a need for it. Plus I had so many of the UP cabooses in brass back in the day. I look forward to seeing it in the future on your Donner Pass layout.

By far one of the most opulent models of a caboose I have ever seen, but you definitely get what you pay for with this one which makes me a fan even though I probably wouldn't buy it myself. You know Dan, I've been watching your reviews for years and I appreciate the consistency and thoroughness of your format. You are an inspiration to me, and have helped me understand how to formulate good criticism.

No complaints Daniel , I have a Conrail 🔵⚪ SD 40 - 2 in Athearn I bought in 1997 in a Hobby shop in Chicago Illinois. I love Conrail and miss them I rate this Review well done. & 💯. 👍

I’m in the middle of making an SD50 into a NS SD40e. These videos really help!

I still have all the videos saved from the build of this unit. Definitely was awesome watching the process of the build.

Dan, with all that said.....what would you estimate the total overall cost of this engine would amount to? With lets say an original cost of $20-$25 for an Athearn Bluebox powered undecorated SD40-2 engine. Then with all the decoration; details and modifications, plus man hours aloted. Of course we're going to blowoff the cost of tools and paint? Cause thats just going to blow us out of the ballpark. 😄 Whats a ballpark figure?

Very impressive and handsome cw44-9 model from Scaletrains, the Santa Fe warbonnet paint scheme is very attractive applied to this locomotive. Despite the presented flaws this model is possibly the best cw44-9 model available in ho scale and Scaletrains has produced another popular and successful GE locomotive model.

As a railroad engineer, conductor, track inspector and a former millwright who worked on $220 million machines with tolerances measured by the thousands of an inch, it’s difficult for me to take these reviews seriously when it comes to the couplers. Have you ever been around an actual train and seen the variances in coupler heights? It is absolutely ridiculous to maintain a specific specification in the real world. In fact, the other day I observed a long draw bar on an old Canadian Pacific boxcar and we had a variance of over 8 inches, it was absolutely ridiculous, but that’s what happens when the plates get worn that hold the couplers at their original factory height. So I would make the argument that the couplers on these models are OK it’s the reviewers perspective that is off.

You have issues with these? Wait till you got used to their old sdp 40 and the sd45!

Another place to look if you want to save some money is estates. I bought an N scale collection off of Facebook Marketplace for $300, sold what I didn't want for $800, gave some stuff to friends, and still kept a lot for myself. The family just wanted it gone and the next highest bidder was offering $150.