Pennsy Cabooses - Little help

Kevin:

Try this link, it is from the PRRT&HS web page.

http://prr.railfan.net/diagram...bn&sz=sm&fr=

N5c has the porthole windows......

This should help you out:

https://jbritton.pennsyrr.com/...r-painting-lettering

After 1949 for yellow grabs and prior to 1955 for no Shadow Keystone if I read it correctly. Remember it is your railroad, run it if you like it!

Thank you folks, very helpful, I thought that I may have purchased a unit that might not be 'prototypical' 

I thought this might help, this is a picture of the caboose that Lionel cataloged. Slightly different and has yellow marker lights on the end. Not sure what the Top stancions and piping is for. Maybe you caboose folks can help me dial into the years this was used.  BTW, RJT and Bobby that is great data. Since this does not have portal windows, i doubled checked the boc and it says N5b, hence my confusion.

Bottom line I have a M1a Coal Hauler and the Pennsy 2-10-4 steamer and wanted to know if this is the caboose that would be the one I should use

The "top stanchions and piping" are for the radio-phone setup that PRR used.
The lettering is best for steam-hauled trains, IMO.

Just another little tidbit of info; PRR crews called them Cabin cars.

Chuck

The N5b did have a long history on the PRR with some of those cabins surviving into the Conrail era.  While in the modeling world we see oodles of the porthole windowed N5c cabins, the N5b certainly played an important role for the PRR. 

This is perfect cabin for use during the PRR transition years from steam to diesel. 

The Trainphone became more prominent during WWII so would not have been seen except on test cars a few years prior to the war.  The black roof was on some cabins between the mid-40s and 1955, when black roofs and keystone became part of the standard paint scheme.  The pre-'55 paint scheme lasted many years after '55 because there were a lot of cabins to paint.

The chrome yellow paint on handrails started in Jan 1949.  Prior to that they were the color of the car or sometimes black.  Because this was a safety mandate, I assume the handrail paint was completed quickly.

Cabins had no keystones (except the N8) prior to '55.  Since it takes time to paint a large fleet, some cabins did not get the keystone until years later.

So, this car is prototypical for your steamers from Jan 49 through the end of steam (1957 with some kept as backup until 1959). 

If you paint the handrails the color of the car (I have done this), this car would be good back to WWII.

Or you could not worry about it and run your railroad any way you like.  As they say, it's your railroad and please enjoy it.

The first N5 were built about 1913 and were the first steel cabooses (cabins) on the PRR.    There was also and N5A in 20s I think that had a duryea underframe, but only 5 were built I think.     The N5B was built in the late 30s or early 40s and is just about 1 foot longer than N5.     The N5B has a different internal layout than the As-built N5 with the stove and stach near the cupola.    the N5 as-built had the stove and stack at one end in the corner near the door.     Also the orginal N5 had flimsy little end rails and no collision posts.

The N5B has much more end railings and very prominent collisions posts which are small I-beams extending up from the platform to the roof on either side of the roof walk.     Many N5 were rebuilt and modified to be like N5B.    the interiors were reconfigured and they got all the safety end railings and the collision posts.     I don't think they were reclassed as N5B however.     

the trainphones were installed on cabins  used in mainline service everywhere except the NE corridor.    the phones did not work  under the electrical catenary so they didn't  use them.

I all the N5 classes  used the same steel underframe and basic body dimensions, even thought the N5C looked radically different with its portholes and streamlined cupola.     The N5C was built during WWII I believe.

The black roofs on cabins did not start until after WWII, late 40s.

I've seen pics of an N5c in Illinois Central colors and MTH has made one.   There was also a grey CSX one in Cleveland for some years.  Any other railroads that used these outside of the PRR, PC, CR?

I also read where the PRR cabins with a yellow cupola were operated throughout the system vs within a territory.  What years was the yellow cupola in use?

VistaDomeScott posted:

I've seen pics of an N5c in Illinois Central colors and MTH has made one. 

 

Actually, they were N8's the Illinois Central Gulf bought after the IC/GM&O merger.

Rusty