UtahRails.net Copyright 2000-2008 Don Strack

D&RGW Steel Cabooses

Compiled by Don Strack

This page was last updated on November 15, 2002.

Original paint schemes

(Click on the road numbers for information about the paint schemes on individual cabooses.)

Road
Number		 Body
Construction		 Window
Style		 Original Paint
Scheme		 Year
Built
Riveted Welded Wood Frame Rubber Frame
01400-01409 X   X   all black 1940
01410-01419 X   X   two yellow stripe 1941
01420-01429 X   X   all black 1942
01430-01439 X   X   all black 1944
01440-01449 X   X   all black 1944-1945
01450-01459 X   X   all black 1947
01460-01469 X   X   all black 1951
01470-01479   X   X all black 1955
01480-01490   X   X single black stripe 1959
01500-01514   X   X single black stripe 1966
01515-01524   X   X all orange 1976

Notes on Exterior Features

All of D&RGW's 01400-series cabooses (a total of 91 cars) were built by Rio Grande in their Burnham (Denver) shops. They were equipped with Duryea cushioned underframes and offset cupolas.

D&RGW 01450-01459 were delivered in 1947 with radio equipment, with two yellow stripes to designate the feature. The radio equipment included a rooftop induction antenna, very similar to the design used by Pennsylvania Railroad. D&RGW 01453 was equipped with a screened center window as protection from the generator installed inside at that location. The car also had fuel tank under the car as fuel for the generator, and a rooftop vent for exhaust. The car also had a battery locker mounted underneath, on the right side.

The window layout differed between the right side and the left side, with the left side (cupola to the right) being shifted a bit forward. On the welded-body cars, the rear-most window is more forward than on the riveted-body cars.

Window Treatment

D&RGW 01400-01459 (and possibly 01460-01469) were built with four-pane wood sash side windows. Their cupolas had four-pane side widows and two-pane end windows. The windows were later rebuilt to single-pane, and still later to sealed rubber-frames, then later they were completely blanked over. (from Jim Eager)

Photographic evidence shows that few if any of the 01400-01459 series cabooses still in black paint received the modernized window treatment.

In response to a Federal Railroad Administration safety ruling, beginning in (?), all windows on D&RGW cabooses were blanked over with steel plate. Usually the plates were simply welded in place of the older wooden window frame, or the newer rubber window frame on the newer cars, leaving an obvious weld bead, or other tell-tale of the window covering process. During later shop efforts, the window treatments were ground smooth and the blanked-over windows became less obvious. The program to cover all the windows was apparently completed by January 1986.

Other Information:

D&RGW 01490 was ordered by Utah Railway.

Other modernizing changes included the installation of solid doors on the caboose ends (replacing wood panel doors), roller bearings replacing solid bearings (all 01400 series cabooses were delivered with solid bearings), and the addition of red and clear marker lights on the caboose ends. (from Jim Eager)

Assignments:

Caboose dispositions:
(from Roger Kirkpatrick)

Four D&RGW cabooses (01481, 01483, 01486, 01490) were leased to the U. S. Navy, lettered as DODX numbers, and were used until 1995 as guard cars for movement of Trident missile stages between Alliant Technical Systems at Bacchus, Utah, and Bellingham, Wash. The cabooses were stored at Bacchus as of July 1999.

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