Stockyard Industrial Lead: Caboose Operations on my Small Switching Layout

This video explains the main reasons behind using a caboose for my local job on my small switching layout, a model railroad set in the South Omaha/Bellevue in the mid-1990s. The caboose is used more as a shoving platform so the crew has a safe place to ride at the front of the train when shoving to the industries at the end of the layout in Bellevue.

Website for the Stockyard Industrial Lead:

Facebook page for the Stockyard Industrial Lead:

SPSF and SOT Merchandise:

[SouthDown]

Love your caboose roster, and nice to learn on how you use them in your operations. Your choice of faded livery for your fleet works rather well especially with that thin layer of patina. As you ask, I use a caboose as an additional challenge in the switching process. Genuinely impressed you can speak so well, with no hesitation, while recording live: quite a skill. Thanks for sharing!

[rickrodrick]

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing. I liked that you showed allowing for the things the prototype must do like taking time for the people on the ground to get where they must be and testing brakes and such. I'm just returning to model railroading with a small switching layout so it's a nice reminder of how take make operations fun. My former layout, nearly 20 years ago, filled a 18 x35 foot room double decked so the switching is very different!

[TouchoftheBrushModelWeathering]

Awesome operations. A caboose definitely can add extra operations and a challenge amd I love cabooses for that purpose plus you can see the end of the train and know of it has uncoupled midway lol

[grantbassett]

"Hi Eric, always watch your new Vid on a Sunday. Calm but very interesting. Ive said it before but love that bridge scene. Im thinking of a L shape layout. switching on each end. And a bridge and water & trees scene in the middle to break them both up, as in 2 different towns. That book you said really has helped ideas, and of course your videos have too. Since i live in England i cant just pop out watch some Switching in real life. Good job people like you video it. Keep safe & keep well my Friend. Cheers Grant ; )

[oubrioko]

2:44 While that certainly is a transfer _style_ caboose, Missouri Pacific designed and built those cabooses in their DeSoto, Missouri shops for use as mainline road cabooses in the mid-1970s. Union Pacific even borrowed one to use as inspiration for their own CA-11 and CA-12 bay-windowed cabooses built by _International Car Company_ in Kenton, Ohio several years before UP acquired Missouri Pacific in a merger. These were the last new cabooses used by MP. The merged UP/MP used them along with UP's new CA-11s and CA-12s on mainline freights well into the late 1980s.

[cbrailroader]

Very nice! Love that pain scheme. My layout will be in early 70’s so will definitely have cabooses and since I will be early BN merger it will have BN and CBQ cabooses.

[charleskelsey]

I will be using cabooses on my layout. My timeline 70’s to 80’s area spring time to summer Shelf three layout BN on the bottom shelf top shelf The Rock so they meet in the middle

[garypyke]

Great video. Who made the lumber load on your center beam?

[rhoobarb]

As always, love your videos, Eric. Maybe I missed it, but I’d love to know how you did the river scene. I’ve done one river scene myself and I’m about to do another. Yours looks so well done – subtle, yet so very realistic!

[mfd]

really nice vid... NJ international HAD some really good looking blue flags on their site (emphasis on had)... you have to be really lucky to catch them when they have out of stock items

[DinsdalePiranha]

7:50 Is that a DeLorean parked near the grade crossing?