Caboose and Cabin Photos
One of the early problems after the Penn Central merger (and there were legions of problems) was the proper term for the car which was on the end of the train. New York Central called those cars cabooses, while the Pennsylvania called them cabin cars. Eventually, the term caboose was settled on.
Class N5 (ex-PRR)
PC class N5 cabin 19028, wearing a "Red P" emblem, is seen seen at the Railroad Express Agency station
in Niantic, CT. Photo by B. Dowd. (39 K)
Class N5B (ex-PRR)
Former PRR N5B caboose 22878 finds itself far from its Pennsy home in Windsor, Ontario, on March 6, 1978. The small print on the car's
side reads "Northern Region", "Candadian Division". Photo by Al Mixter. (43 K, 7/3/03)
Two N5Bs are among the cabooses on the caboose track at Conway Yard on July 21, 1976. Note that the second car from the left has
already been relettered for Conrail, and a freshly-painted Conrail blue caboose can be seen in the background.
Photo by Al Mixter. (51 K, 7/3/03)
Class N5C (ex-PRR)
PC 23029, an ex-PRR N5C caboose, rolls through Herkimer, NY, in 1977.
Photo by Michael Fullerton. (72 K)
PC 23153, caboose, class N5C, ex-PRR, location, date, and photographer unknown, collection of
Jeff Feldmeier. (67 K)
Class N5H (ex-Southern)
The ever-frugal PC acquired a group of former Southern bay window cabooses for yard service in 1971. The cabooses were put into the N5H class. This example, PC 18440, was originally Southern 3170.
This car is seen long out of service at The Wherehouse in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Photo by Mark Beebe. (225 K)
Class N5K (ex-Santa Fe)
The N5K was one of those "what were they thinking" projects of the Penn Central. PC acquired seven cabooses from the Santa Fe in 1970. In a fashion similar to the N8A and N8B rebuilds, Penn Central cut down the cupola, blanked out most of the windows, and added a bay window to each side. They were numbered 18443-18449. The result is something that will never win any kind of style contest...
PC N5K 18443 is seen at the former Erie Lackawanna Brier Hill Yard in Youngstown, Ohio, on July 9, 1978.
Photo by Al Mixter. (60 K, 7/3/03)
Class N8 (ex-PRR)
Ex-PRR N8 class caboose 23204 rolls through Herkimer, NY, in 1977.
Photo by Michael Fullerton. (72 K)
PC 23253 trails a train on the west side of Cleveland, Ohio. Photo by Dick Ross. (95 K)
Class N9
The N9 class were transfer cabooses built using old boxcar underframes at Despatch Shops in East Rochester, NY. The first N9s were built by NYC, and construction continued after the PC merger.
PC N9 18212 is seen at Cleveland, Ohio. Photo by Dick Ross. (128 K)
PC N9 18312 is in the company of an N5 caboose at West Park Yard in Cleveland, Ohio. Photo by Dick Ross. (83 K)
PC N9 18455 is wearing a coating of snow on this day in December, 1972, in Utica, New York.
Photo by G. Wilsuz, from the collection of Stephen Foster. (66 K)
Peoria & Eastern 1600 is seen at Crawfordsville, Indiana, in April, 1976. This N9 was built for the P&E, but wore PC green paint and emblems. This caboose later became Conrail 18231.
Photo by Gary Stuebben. (102 K)
Class N10
PC 4751 is a class N10 caboose which was built new by the Altoona Shops in 1969. This caboose, seen at Boston,
Massachusetts, in July 1971, is painted a dark green or black color and is assigned to mail train service.
Photographer unknown, from the collection of Gene Fusco. (27 K)
Class N11
PC 18455 is an N11 transfer caboose, built new by PC's Despatch Shops in 1969. It is seen at Dayton, Ohio, in July 1975.
Photo by Dave Royer. (73 K)
PC 18526 was the first of N11E transfer caboose series. The N11E had an electrical system, where the straight N11's did not. Seen on a Conrail local at Herkimer, NY, in 1977. This car today is preserved at the Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. Photo by Michael Fullerton. (100 K)
Class N12
In September 1972, PC class N12 caboose 24548 is seen at West Springfield, Massachusetts. The N12 class was built by the
International Car Company and was the last class of new cabooses built for the Penn Central.
Photo by Clayton Sherry, from the collection of Stephen Foster. (66 K)
Class NE6 (ex-NH)
The NE-5 and NE-6 classes were former New Haven cabooses. About 40 each of the NE-5's and NE-6's were rebuilt into the N8A and N8B classes, with their cupolas blanked and bay windows added. About 65 others were rebuilt with no exterior modifications and placed in PC's NE6 class.
Penn Central caboose 19864, class NE6, seen at Canaan, CT. Photo by Edward Gibbs. (152 K)
PC 19882, caboose, class NE6, ex-New Haven, Clinton, MI, 9/10/88. Photo by Jeff Feldmeier.
This caboose was being used for excursions by the Southern Michigan Railroad which operates a portion of the ex-NYC "Old Road" line. Note the PC step stool! (100 K)
For more pictures of Penn Central Cabooses, visit the Penn Central Caboose Page.