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with lettering “C&O” and numerals in Futura font.

C&O wooden cabooses were largely eliminated from mainline duties in about 1950, after the arrival of the last batch of steel cars (90200-90350). Subsequently they served in branch line operations, coal mine runs, and second-ary trains of all types. Some cars were rebuilt with plywood siding covering the tongue-in-groove outer walls.

The 90700 series cabooses have been of wide interest. The Kokosing Gap Trail, Inc. of Gambier, Ohio was a volunteer group which rebuilt and restored C&O 90776 to its 1930s ap-pearance for display. In 2000 the group published a 48 page book by Dwight Jones and Phil Samuell about the whole 90700-99 series of cars, with very detailed data and many photos. We sold these books through the C&OHS as long as they were available. If one can be found today in the secondhand mar-ket, it is very useful. Beyond that and the November 2002 Kresse article in this magazine, little else has been pub-lished about C&O wooden cabooses.

-(4) Same, but logo changed to the second style For Progress in Nov. 1954.

-5) Same but white Futura Demi-Bold font lettering or blue or black Roman lettering/numerals (experi-mental only 1956-57).

-(6) Signal Yellow body with En-chantment Blue Futura Demi-Bold let-tering; no road name, only second style For Progress logo and number (9-inch height). Three-inch red visibility stripe appears at the bottom of the sides. Car numbers were placed at each end of Cupola. Used from 1957 to retirement. Some cars were painted without the visibility stripe though it was called for in official drawings. Awnings, platforms and garb irons all yellow, underbody black. Note: This scheme still in use until cars retired in 1970s.

With these three styles we can see the important types of C&O caboose lettering in the post-1930 era up to the advent of Chessie System in 1972. As far as we can tell only a few wooden cabooses were ever officially lettered with a Chessie System, most notably a number of cars that were refurbished at Walbridge Yard, Ohio, in the mid 1970s. They had a small Ches-C logo along

C&O Wooden Cabooses An Album of Modern Paint Schemes

We are taking the opportunity to revisit the paint schemes used on C&O wooden cabooses in the post-1930 era because Walthers Models has produced a set of four HO C&O wooden caboos-es painted in four different variations.

The definitive material thus far available about C&O wooden cabooses appears in the November 2002 issue of this magazine in the article “C&O Wooden Cabins” by Al Kresse. We are reproducing in the next few pages several photos of the paint schemes he described that we believe have not been published before, or at least not recently.

Al's article identified six distinct paint schemes used on C&O cabooses:

-(1) Freight Car Brown/metal-lic brown body, with white lettering. Arched road name in Roman font. Used 1890s-1920s.

-(2) Red body with 9-inch Roman lettering in straight line; with brown roof, black underframes, platforms, and awnings. Used 1931-1948.

-(3) Red body, white lettering with first generation C&O for Progress logo. Road name in 9-inch lettering until 1949, then changed to 7-inch.

Caboose No. 90808 in the first For Progress paint scheme as seen here at FD Cabin in Logan, W. Va. in August 1956 as the conductor gets his orders for a mine run. (Gene Huddleston photo, C&OHS Collection, COHS 1590)

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This 1957 photo at Charlottesville, Va., shows No. 90776 in the straight Roman road name scheme, using 9-inch letters for the road name. Note that it is in company with a steel caboose in the first For Progress scheme. By this time, many schemes mingled, a fact useful in prototype modeling. (J. R. Kean photo, C&O Historical Society Collection, COHS 3488)

For the benefit of modelers, we have noted in the captions if a photo is available in the collection in color, so that they may order a print or digital file of that image if desired.

This late-era photo from the late 1950s shows a red caboose with the 7-inch lettering and no logo. (C&OHS Collection, COHS 41474) (Available in color.)

(Below) Another car in this 7-inch lettering scheme is seen in this photo bringing up the rear of the Hot Springs Branch mixed train at Natural Well, Virginia, taken in about 1960. By this date most wooden cabooses were in branch line service, with a few still on main-line local freights. A few were still is old paint schemes as this illustrates. (Gene Huddleston photo, C&OHS Collection, COHS 20233) (Available in color.)

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No. 90677 is shown here at Rainelle, West Virginia in 1958 on the NF&G. The first generation For Progress logo and 7-inch lettering are in use on this car. (C&OHS Collection, COHS 4219)

This overhead view at Russell in the late 1950s of No. 90872 shows the first For Progress scheme. (Gene Huddleston Photo, C&OHS Collection, COHS 41475) (Available in color.)

A variety of wooden cabooses at Rainelle in 1960: two cars in red with the second For Progress scheme, and No. 90918 in the new yellow paint with Futura numerals. (H. Reid photo, C&OHS Collection, COHS 41476) (Available in color.)

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This nice broadside view shows freshly shopped caboose No. 90953 at Huntington in 1957 with yellow paint, blue lettering, and red visibility stripe. (C&O Ry. Photo, C&OHS Collection, CSPR 4798)

Caboose No. 90803 is shown here at Hinton, W. Va. for light repairs at the Avis car shop tracks on March 9, 1969, nearing the end of its life. It has the 1957 scheme including visibility stripe. (T. W. Dixon, Jr. photo, C&OHS Collection, COHS 20294)(Available in color.)

No. 90725 is still in use on branch line mine runs in this image at the Raleigh, West Virginia coal marshalling yard on May 30, 1972. It has the yellow scheme without a visibility stripe. Using photos as a reference, it is evident that the paint shop was not always consistent in the lettering because different size logos and placement variations can be seen in photos. (T.W. Dixon, Jr. photo, C&OHS Collection, COHS 31047)

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No. 90989 is at the car repair area at Hinton on March 9, 1969. This photo is included to show how badly weathered some of these cars became before they were retired. This is a particularly bad case and is available in the collection in color for any modeler want-ing to have a very weathered car! (T. W. Dixon, Jr. photo, C&OHS Collection, COHS 39640) (Available in color.)

Russ Hass wrote a very interesting and useful article about detailing the wooden cars when they were first pro-duced by Walthers. This article also ap-pears in the November 2002 issue of this magazine, along with the Kresse article.

For more details on each of the let-tering styles, additional photographs, etc., consult the Kresse article in the same magazine.

Walthers HO Cabooses as described in this article now available:MD-15-738 – Red; 9-inch C&O Roman Road Name (No. 90702)MD-15-737 – Red; 7-inch Roman Road Name; For Progress Logo (No. 90800)MD-15-740 – Yellow Body; Blue Lettering w/Red Visibility Stripe (No. 90711)MD-15-741 – Same Design minus Visibility Stripe(No. 90725)Each car is $39.95Cars available now, order at once!Look at the catalog flyers in this issue for full details.Order from C&OHS and support us!

(Left and Below) Detail from C&O Painting & Lettering Diagram for the 9-inch straight Roman road name scheme. (Extract from C&O Drawing 152-12-146, C&OHS Collection)

Rainelle, W. Va. 1957 (COHS 2136)

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(Above and left) Painting & Lettering Diagram showing second For Progress logo and 7-inch lettering. (From C&O Drawing 152-12-498, C&OHS Collection)

(Below and Right) Official C&O Painting & Lettering Diagram for the yellow simplified scheme of 1957. Note that it includes the visibility stripe. Cars without this apparently were mistakes at the shops, as all official documents show the stripe. (From C&O Drawing No. 152-12-145)

Digital files or full-size prints from original C&O drawings are available from C&OHS by ordering the draw-ing numbers indicated in the cap-tions. These drawings will contain the data block and all other pertinent information including a list of other drawings that pertain.