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Hey Folks,

Seems like there is a plethora of lighted cabooses for O gauge out there, both past and present.  But, surprising to me, so very few with flashing rear lights.  I wonder why?

I have a Menards with the flashing lights, which is a great looking car, but sadly the coupler is a real problem when connected to a Lionel lobster claw.  (Mine will only stay on the track if connected to an old heavy steel logging car.)

I see that there is currently a Lionel flashing light and smoking caboose, but to me, they are really really expensive.  ($85 or so.)

Anybody know of any other past or present cabooses, whose couplers will work with the lobtser claws, that have a flashing red light or yellow light?

(I see these little add on kits, that require a battery, but those are not for me.)

Thanks for any info.

Mannyrock

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@Hot Water posted:

Depending on the era being modeled, i.e. back in the steam days (prior to the mid to late 1950s), most RR cabooses did NOT have "flashing rear lights".

Plus, some railroads used red flags or red painted rectangular plates (Illinois Central for one) in the daytime.  Even when they hung markers, if they were oil lit they weren't usually illuminated in the daytime.  Just so long as the red lens faced the rear.

Rusty

@Rob Leese posted:

All the waycar red lights I ever saw burned steady. This would include all types of SL-SF cabs and the wide variety of BN, Inc merger road waycars. AT&SF waycars had steady burning red lights.  Which roads had red lights that flashed ?

The CB&Q NE12's had flashing red lights under the ends of the running boards:

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Frankly, I never saw them in operation either day or night.  The NE12's always carried regular marker lights on a train.  The flasher may have only come on if the train went into emergency.

Rusty

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Last edited by Rusty Traque

Manny, just a forewarning since you've posted in the past about seeking smaller sized locomotives...

The Wabash and NYC cabooses mentioned above are both from Lionel's standard 0 line. They're not exact scale proportioned, but pretty close. And MUCH larger than the Menards's Lionel based SP style caboose you are currently running.

The last caboose mentioned above by Curt is a bay window caboose. Part of Lionel's traditional line. Size-wise, more in line with what you are running, but over 10 inches long.

Just something to consider so you don't buy one and then when you get it on the layout, you notice it is much bigger than you had considered.

BUT to get the flashing light effect without doing it yourself, compromises may have to be made.

Final thought... I'm sure your current Menard's caboose could be fixed by possibly filing down any flashing on the coupler of the Menard's caboose and/or adding a little bit of weight to the caboose. I've found over the years of buying various brands of trains, that while couplers may appear on first glance to be identical, there are often very subtle differences that cause the cars to not run well with each other.

@Mannyrock posted:

Hey Folks,

Seems like there is a plethora of lighted cabooses for O gauge out there, both past and present.  But, surprising to me, so very few with flashing rear lights.  I wonder why?

The OP's inquiry was a bit of a puzzle to me, because most every caboose I've gotten for years, extended vision or bay window, whether from Lionel, Atlas O or MTH, has had a flashing rear light. Yes, the top two (Atlas O and Lionel shown) are scale and fairly expensive, but even traditional Lionel bay window cabooses (bottom two photos) have had flashing rear lights for years now.  The Atlas O flashers have a pretty neat effect, because each flash starts dimly and builds to bright and then dims again before turning off.



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Last edited by breezinup

Manny, just a forewarning since you've posted in the past about seeking smaller sized locomotives...

The Wabash and NYC cabooses mentioned above are both from Lionel's standard 0 line. They're not exact scale proportioned, but pretty close. And MUCH larger than the Menards's Lionel based SP style caboose you are currently running.

The last caboose mentioned above by Curt is a bay window caboose. Part of Lionel's traditional line. Size-wise, more in line with what you are running, but over 10 inches long.

Just something to consider so you don't buy one and then when you get it on the layout, you notice it is much bigger than you had considered.

BUT to get the flashing light effect without doing it yourself, compromises may have to be made.

Final thought... I'm sure your current Menard's caboose could be fixed by possibly filing down any flashing on the coupler of the Menard's caboose and/or adding a little bit of weight to the caboose. I've found over the years of buying various brands of trains, that while couplers may appear on first glance to be identical, there are often very subtle differences that cause the cars to not run well with each other.

Brian is correct. The NYC caboose is larger than typical post war.

@Mannyrock posted:

Breezinup,

I think one of the problem is that perhaps the extended vision or bay window models may not contain, in their short one- line titles, that they have a flashing light.  So, when I tried to run google or bay searches, I didn't see  any of those turn up.

Thanks for the extra info.

Mannyrock

Yes. You may have to check pictures or manufacturer descriptions (which many Ebay sellers often include) to find reference to the lights.

BTW, I've added rear flashing lights to several older cabooses, using LEDs from the attached seller, who lists on Ebay. His stuff already has all the electronics wired in, and just requires opening the caboose and soldering two wires to the wires that go to the interior light(s). Drill a hole in the rear, insert the led and wires, solder, and your flashing light is operational. If what you want isn't listed at his site (he produces different batches of things at different times), send him an email and ask if he can make whatever you want.

dans_l.e.d.epot2015

Yea,  I just waded through about 20 Lionel extended vision and bay window cabooses, NIB, on the Bay, from about $40 to $110.  .  Only one mentioned a flashing red light.  Most just said "illuminated interior."

One mentioned "rear globe lights" , but didn't say whether they were flashing, or just red plastic globes that filtered the interior white light.

Almost all of them showed the box ends, and none of those mentioned flashing lights.

Maybe Lionel found out that O gaugers don't like the unrealistic flashing red lights, and don't want to mention them?


Mannyrock

@Mannyrock posted:

Yea,  I just waded through about 20 Lionel extended vision and bay window cabooses, NIB, on the Bay, from about $40 to $110.  .  Only one mentioned a flashing red light.  Most just said "illuminated interior."

One mentioned "rear globe lights" , but didn't say whether they were flashing, or just red plastic globes that filtered the interior white light.

Almost all of them showed the box ends, and none of those mentioned flashing lights.

Maybe Lionel found out that O gaugers don't like the unrealistic flashing red lights, and don't want to mention them?

Or,,,,,,,,,,,,just maybe the folks at Lionel realized that the REAL railroads did not use "flashing rear lights" on cabooses!


Mannyrock

@Craftech posted:

I wasn't suggesting that.  Maybe someone else was.  Cabooses were easy to spot as the last car in addition to being illuminated.

John

Actually, REAL cabooses were NOT "illuminated"! Interior illumination would negatively effect the visibility of the rear end crew. Thus there were Aladdin oil lamps, mounted over the Conductors desk, and turned down very low, so that only the Conductor could see at his desk. The world of Toy Trains, has the caboose interior well illuminated, i.e. bright lights, which is NOT prototypical.  

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