Preserved Lionel Lines Caboose?

PaperTRW · **Joined:** Thu Feb 17, 2011 12:46 pm **Posts:** 7

Found this sun-faded photograph at a local (northern Detroit suburbs) estate sale. Judging from the fresh paint and white curtains, I'm guessing that this was someone's preserved baby. The Lionel train company was located in this part of Michigan for about 40 years, but to my knowledge, they never had a real caboose.

No additional information was available at the sale, nothing on the back of the photo, and Google has not been my friend. I also didn't have any luck with the car's number (624-0400), thinking it may be a local phone number.

I'd love to know the particulars... What is it, where was it, and is it still there?

Thanks!
Todd

dinwitty · **Joined:** Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:18 pm **Posts:** 2226

needs silohouette people in the windows...

buzz_morris · **Joined:** Thu Feb 03, 2005 9:32 pm **Posts:** 344

Looks like a wood Santa Fe, 1400 series?
I was in Iowa years ago at a picnic, it took me several hours before I realized the RR bridge near by was painted Lionel.
Just checked, it still is.

http://bridgehunter.com/ia/webster/bh54234/

Howard P. · **Posted:** Thu Sep 05, 2013 11:06 am

GTW, no doubt.

ebtrr · **Posted:** Thu Sep 05, 2013 11:55 am

There is (or at least was) also a Lionel Lines painted PRR N5C at the Red Caboose motel in Strasburg, PA.

http://www.priceline.com/red-caboose-mo ... tel-guides

Great Western · **Posted:** Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:46 pm

I'd be inclined to vote for Grand Trunk Western. Here is another example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Grand ... aboose.jpg
Numbering, if memory serves, was in the 77,000 to 79,000? Also suspect the number on it is a phone number?
If it is exGT, then we better call it a "van" ! :)

Aarne H. Frobom · **Posted:** Thu Sep 05, 2013 4:52 pm

This is funny. It's almost certainly a GTW car. The GTW bought a bunch of Santa Fe steel 1950-series cabooses in the sixties, but no wood ATSF cars that I know of. There are lots of both the wood and steel ones left around Michigan.

Around 1971 there were a number of wood cars near my home town of Mt. Clemens that I do not know the disposition of; this might be one. One was in an industrial plant adjacent to the GTW a few blocks south of Cass Avenue in Mt. Clemens. One or two more were adjacent to the NYC in Utica (owned by someone named Bartlebaugh?). There may have been one at a signpainter's business south of Romeo along with an 0-4-0T shorn of its tank, and a North Shore interurban, all since moved.

All of this pre-dated the arrival of Lionel in Mt. Clemens by many years. And don't forget the "Lionel" girder bridge over the Lodge freeway near Ford Hospital.

Aarne Frobom
Lionelville, Michigan

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 3010

Aarne H. Frobom wrote:

And don't forget the "Lionel" girder bridge over the Lodge freeway near Ford Hospital.

There were two trestles that crossed the freeway to the Pittsburgh airport just outside of Fort Pitt tunnel to downtown.

For many years, one was lettered Lionel Lines and the other was lettered by American Flyer.

j32885 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 06, 2013 1:47 am

That's definitely an old woody GTW/CN caboose/van. It was probably was parked by the old Michigan factory in Mt. Clemans. Richard Kughn owned Lionel back in the 1980s-90s and was a owner of some railroad equipment too. Here's some links that may be some help...

Railroad Michigan/Caboose
http://www.railroadmichigan.com/caboose.html

Michigan Railroads Caboose List
http://www.michiganrailroads.com/MichRR ... seList.htm

Railroadfan/Michigan Cabooses
http://railroadfan.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=3&p=167164

Panramio Michigan Cabooses
http://www.panoramio.com/user/5115601/t ... 20Cabooses

Enjoy! ^_^