The following series of photos shows the replacement of a deteriorated canvas roof on Central Vermont caboose 4014. The wood deck under the canvas was in poor condition in a number of areas and required total replacement on the "short end".

Allen Pomeroy (car's owner) starts the removal process on CV 4014:



The cupola roof after removal of canvas and rotten tack molding:



"Short end" of roof; the yellow panels are the inside doors of the lockers in that end of the car.



Howard P.

Next batch:

Car roof stripped and ready for new material:



"Short End" redecked with new T&G material:



Underside view of "short end". Every bit of original wood that was in good condition was reused or left undisturbed.



Howard P.

Continuing with the process:

The decision was made to overlay the wood deck with 1/4" Luan plywood, to provide a smooth surface for the EPDM membrane:



The cupola roof, with new tack boards along the edges and Luan deck, ready for the EPDM membrane (pre-cut and ready for application):



The EPDM membrane is now applied and the steel parts of the cupola have been primed. The edges of the roof have been nailed as per original. Note the folded edges on the cupola roof.




Howard P.

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Great stuff Howard. Thanks so much for sharing.

Howard, one potential trouble spot is the attachment of the cleats the hold the walk boards onto the roof over the membrane - how did you seal the cleats such that no leakage would come through the attachments? I used to just bed the whole board in gloppy stuff, but maybe there's a better way.

dave

Oh, cool. I've been a big proponent of TREX for replicating running boards, platform decking and the like since I used it on a residential deck twelve or fifteen years ago. The stuff has the potential to last forever even when exposed to the weather, certainly as long as the projected fifty year life of the EPDM membrane. Some questions:

Are the saddles TREX also?

What is the maximum span between saddles? This could be a concern on some equipment, as TREX isn't as stiff as real wood.

Does it hold paint?

Do you have any pix of the finished roof?

Please report back in a couple years and tell us how it's holding up.

Howard:

What a ride! Of course I get all loopy about caboose restorations ...

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It is amazing how many of these CVRy cabeese are still around, for such a small Railroad. How many were built?

The following are the ones I know:

4007 - Depot Museum, Columbus OH
4009 - Swanton (VT) RR Depot Museum
4010 - Valley RR, Essex Steam Train
4011 - Conway Scenic
4013 - Barnet Vt (Private owner)
4014 - Al Pomeroy @ RMNE
4029 - Ct Eastern RR Museum
4030 - Andover (NH) Historical Society

Then there is also another possible one in St Johnsbury near the Lake Champlain shoreline and #4017 last reported in Williston Vt.

The Caboose at the Loose Caboose / Back Behind BBQ in Killingly VT may also be one of these. Possibly another across town at Casey's Caboose.

Rich C.

You forgot one

Dave, Dennis,

The roof walk supports are made from Cedar 4x4's cut to size. i had used them in the original restoration around 1990, and they were still sound when removed but broken when removed from the roof. the trex like products i found for 4x4's had a high content of sawdust in the center thus the decition to work with the cedar again. The saddles are attached by laminating another layer of roofing rubber as a cusion, gluing with a rubber to rubber cement from the roofing supplyer. there are attached to the roof addtionaly with two lag bolts each in very loose fitting holes, followed by a generous fillet bead of a caulk around the perimeter again supplied by the roofing mfg.

The trex boards were avalible as an off brand that was no longer being stocked by the local lumber yard and avalible at half price. they are a dark brown color with nice wood grain effect before i painted with rustoleum gloss black. will find out how long they hold paint for sure, but was not to concerned as to scuffing from ocasional walking as it would only expose the brown surface.

The Roof job violated some of the manufactures rules. they advocate the use of terminator strips to tie down all the edges, which do not look right on a historic car. the smoke jack penitration is probally another. i took great care to apply thick beads of sealant any where there was a concern, heck even the end laders penitrate the rubber roof. I have seen a few caboose roofs done by the "profesionals" and they did not look right, for one thing they tipically add 1" thick polystyrene insulation to the roof surface to use as a rubber aplication surface. this followed by the terminator bars just make for an ugly roof.


RCD's car is 4015 at the Sheburne Falls Ma. trolly museum, and there are many others.

Al P.

Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum also has 4052 (currently under restoration) in addition to the 4029 mentioned. Interestingly I've never seen pics or mention of the 4029 on thier website.


If you add up the ones mentioned it seems about a dozen still exist.

CV 4052 is one of the few centered-cupola CV cabooses that existed; it seems to be the only one left. Like the Lehigh & Hudson River cabooses that lasted up to Conrail, it was a copy of a 1918 USRA standard design. That design, updated for all-steel construction, became the basis for the Reading's "Northeastern Caboose" design, used by RDG, LV, CNJ.

Howard P.

Not much to show on her, 2 maybe 3 winters ago we got her into the roundhouse to get her out of the weather, I doubt she would have survived last winter if she was outside.

Cupola end of the long roof is supported with screw jacks due to rot, and the wall bows outward behind where the stove was. Doesn't look much different then the photo below which was taken almost 10 years ago, before a secondary over roof was added (4x4 spacers and 3/4" plywood)

http://www.cteastrrmuseum.org/images/in ... se4029.jpg

Here is what she looked like when she arrived back in 1998.
http://gelwood.railfan.net/cv/cv4029.jpg

So I guess 12-13 out of a max of 40-50 cars survive (4040 was a later series, but 4050-4052 were built in 1923)

Rich C.