Elvas Tower: Rio Grande Southern Caboose 0404 - Elvas Tower

In 1908, the Rio Grande Southern decided that they needed another caboose. The 0404 was the result. The car was built on the frame of a flatcar and was the only ‘long’ caboose on the RGS. Originally the car had two windows on the sides of the cupola and they were hung on the outside of the cupola sides. It remained like this until sometime in the 1920’s when the cupola was rebuilt with single windows on each side which were hung on the inside.

There are three versions of this car in the download, each representing a different era of its existence: 1936, 1940 and 1948.

The 1936 version represents the c1920s-1940 era. It has black handrails and ladders and a top mounted signal light, corresponding with the signal requirements of the D&RGW in use prior to the issuance of the 1938 rule book. This includes red-to-the-rear, green-to-the-sides-and-front marker lights. The car features the short Railroad Roman “Rio Grande Southern” lettering on the fascia and numbers centered low on the car sides. Only this early version of 0404, of all the cabooses, had sunshades over the body side windows.

The 1940 version is representative of the extensive rebuild done on the car in 1940 and represents the 1940 to September 1943 period. It features silver paint on handrails, ladders, grabs and steps. It has the “Sunrise” herald with numbers nearly centered under the windows, but not quite. The top light is gone and the side and front lenses on the marker lamps are yellow now.

In September of 1943 – a very bad year for the RGS – the 0404 fell victim to a car with faulty brakes that ran into it in the Rico yards destroying both end platforms. It was hauled to Ridgway on a flat car and rebuilt only to be on the end of Extra 455 East when it ran away and wrecked near Valley View in September of that year. Most of the train was destroyed but the 0404 remained upright and mostly undamaged although in need of repairs.

What emerged from the shops is our 1948 version. This represents the years from 1944 through to the end of the railroad. It features silver paint on the handrails, ladders, grabs and steps, a large “RGS” centered under the cupola and a centered number. Due to leaks this version has tarpaper covering the sheathing on the cupola. The new end beams are squared off instead of rounded.

Each version is offered in two models, but instead of “stove end forward” or “stove end rear,” this car has “short end forward” (S-E-F) and “long end forward” (L-E-F). Each has the marker lights on the appropriate (rear) end. The lights will illuminate at dusk.

This model was built from plans drawn by Ken Pruitt, supplemented by pictures in Vol. XII of the RGS Story, and by many pictures furnished by Herb Kelsey. This model is the last of a series of RGS cabooses being modeled, unless Herb talks me into an 0409.

This model was built by a team of several people. I did the actual construction, but Herb Kelsey inspected it at every stage to make suggestions and point out errors, and did all testing. Herb applied all lettering and the cupola light box, and packaged the model for uploading. The marker lights were made by Tim Muir, applied and illuminated by Herb Kelsey.

To install, unzip this file to a neutral location and copy the “Trains” folder to your root directory. Use your preferred consist editor to tack one of these on your train.

Enjoy!