I have a caboose (steel, 1971) that tilts slightly to one side. To my knowledge it has never been involved in any kind of accident that caused damage to the caboose. Can anyone tell me what causes this and what the corrective action is?

Have you checked the track for level?

As Dave suggested, first check the track... assuming its ok then check the side bearings on the trucks... particularly if they may have been changed... if the car is static you can make up wooden wedges and drive them in on the low side to level the car.

Randy

Are the batteries missing? I have seem batteries cause cabooses to tilt. Some railroads used locomotive batteries in cabooses, which are quite heavy.

When the caboose was being restored inside an enginehouse, I thought at first the tilt might be due to uneven track; however, when we moved it out into the yard, it was still tilting a bit, and when it's coupled to other cars the tilt is easier to notice.

I'll check the batteries (I haven't looked at them in a long time) but I believe they're still under the caboose. They're not used and disposing of them would be quite a bother, so they've remained inside the box.

Next up: checking the side bearings. Thanks for the tip, Randy!

Use a process of elimination. First, check the track for level, with a level ;)

measure the distance from the rail to the axle

Measure the compression of the springs, from one side to the other

check for broken, missing, or worn springs.

In order to fix this, you really need to know where the tilt starts from.

hmm, on a model I tighten the screw underneath, see if the bolster is worn. If theres a way to tighten the truck/body connection. Or perhaps the body is warping...IRM had a passenger car the end was warping down.

Talking about the battery if removed I wonder if its been designed balanced with the battery installed.

sounds like a bad truck spring

Assuming this caboose is still in operation...........you do not correct a leaning car with a side bearing adjustment. When we set up constant contact side bearings on the repair track we remove all four so there is no interference and let the car sit how it wants to sit. Measurements are taken from the bottom of the cage to the bearing surface on the car. Shims are then added or subtracted to achieve the proper measurement. Once we have the right measurements then the elements can be put back in. Roller type bearings should always have clearance when sitting on level track. Ideally that would be between 3/16 and 5/16 of an inch on all four corners. You can add or remove shims to achieve this. The bearing on the car should be a minimum of 5/8 thick if it is a flat bearing or there might be a wedge for the body bearing. If we cannot maintain that 5/8 thickness and get the required roller clearance then we've got center plate or bolster bowl problems. Shimming bolster bowls is allowed on 50 ton and 70 ton cars. Wear plates must be used on 100 ton cars. Center plate engagement must be maintained. A freight car on level track should not lean. There really isn't a provision for leveling a freight car so if one does lean then we sometimes start some rather unorthodox methods for getting one to sit level. If the car has weld on ceiling wear liners then I will frequently go to a thicker liner to see if I can get it to sit up straight. All this assumes that the springs are good. Sometimes I'll move springs around from side to side and put worn springs in the high side and new springs in the low side in an effort to correct a car that leans. There is lots of measuring and trial and error that goes into straightening a car up unless there is something obviously wrong like a broken spring.

On Barber caboose trucks, check and see if your trucks are equipped with the swing hanger pin bearing liners. That was an improvement that Standard Car Truck made on later models. The earlier models had no liners. Is there a liner missing maybe? Uneven wear in these areas will certainly cause one to lean. Other causes can be worn swing hangers and pins or a leaf spring might be getting weak. That's where measurements both under load and without load will come in handy.

If this is a stationary caboose then do whatever you wish to stand it up straight. There are no rules.