These are the first six road names on our brand new Transfer Cabooses in HO scale. Unlike our last announcement which featured the “short, bay window caboose” this group consists of genuine “Transfer” cabooses. Transfer cabooses were used for cross-town hops between yards. In the post-caboose era they have been used as “shoving platforms” providing a place for the brakeman or conductor to ride and be the engineer’s eyes during long backup moves. They did not have cupolas or bay windows, cots or amenities. In fact many didn’t have electricity. Most were built in the railroad’s own shops. Details will include wire grab irons and cut levers, Kadee #5 couplers, stairway light fixture castings, prototypical variation in marker light placement and free rolling trucks of various designs. Artwork shown here is preliminary and subject to improvement by our crack development staff.

Kansas City Southern Transfer Cabooses. KCS had a number of transfer cabooses, built by the line in theirown shops. The earliest group is represented with these two road numbers which sport friction bearing trucks, ACI tags, and red conspicuity stripes along the frame. (Later cars had roller bearings, yellow frame stripes and locomotive style all-weather windows.) The Kansas City Southern system of this period linked KC with the Gulf and Dallas with New Orleans. In later years, KCS would acquire, Mid-South, Gateway Western, Gateway Eastern, Texas-Mexican and Mexico’s TFM. 34050 Kansas City Southern #677; 34051 Kansas City Southern #682.