The Sedalia Katy Depot

The MoPac fielded one of the most colorful caboose rosters of any road, with hundreds of variations.  

Missouri Pacific Caboose 12099 is an off center cupola caboose built in 1929 by Texas & Pacific at Marshall, TX and rebuilt at the MoPac Sedalia shops in the late 1960’s.   Caboose 12099 (formerly numbered as 13099, 2535, 2318, 2220) was one of nearly 500 cabooses rebuilt at the Sedalia MoPac Shops. 

A gift from MoPac to the community at the time its local shops were about to close in 1986, the caboose served as a Sedalia Visitor Center under the direction of the Convention and Visitors Bureau until 2014 when a decision from its four partnering organizations was made that the caboose needed a new owner, a new location and a new purpose.  

That new owner is the Sedalia Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit organization based out of the historic Katy Depot, whose mission includes preservation and interpretation of Sedalia’s heritage—especially its railroading heritage.  Just as cabooses no longer bring up the rear of the train—all eras must come to an end. 

Fortunately another new era for Caboose 12099 is beginning - taking on new life in another location and in another capacity. Its service to the community continues on.

Caboose 12099  

The MoPac fielded one of the most colorful caboose rosters of any road, with hundreds of variations.  

Missouri Pacific Caboose 12099 is an off center cupola caboose built in 1929 by Texas & Pacific at Marshall, TX and rebuilt at the MoPac Sedalia shops in the late 1960’s.   Caboose 12099 (formerly numbered as 13099, 2535, 2318, 2220) was one of nearly 500 cabooses rebuilt at the Sedalia MoPac Shops. 

The first cabooses in the early 1800s were basically makeshift shacks built on an empty flatcar to keep the train crew out of the weather. As railroads started using purpose-built cabooses, they soon realized that cabooses offered a good vantage point to keep an eye on the back half of ever-lengthening trains. To improve the view, railroads added cupolas—the lookout post atop the car—to the roofs of cabooses. The caboose went from being just shelter to being an important safety device mandated by law in most states. 

At first, railroads assigned a caboose to a conductor for his exclusive use. Conductors often decorated their cars' interiors with curtains and personal photos. They often stocked a pantry for cooking meals, so the caboose became their home away from home. But as trains moved faster and urbanization spread, cabooses were assigned to operating districts and began to take on the more utilitarian role of just bringing up the rear of the train.

Who’s on Board

For most of the 19th century and the first few years of the 20th, most cabooses carried a conductor, brakeman, and flagman. Before the era of automatic air brakes, the engineer signaled by whistle when he needed to slow down or stop. The rear end brakeman's job was to climb over the moving train and make his way forward, turning brake wheels that rose above the car roofs. The head-end brakeman, riding the engine, would work his way rearward. When the train stopped, the flagman detrained from the caboose and walked back a prescribed distance to signal approaching trains that a stopped train was ahead. Once underway again, the caboose (or "rear end") crew would sit up in the cupola and watch for smoke from overheated wheel journals (called hotboxes) or other signs of trouble.

Caboose designs have always been driven by three factors: safety, crew efficiency, and a need to keep the cost down. This last factor reflects that cabooses are "non-revenue" equipment. In other words, these cars don't make any money for the railroads. Nevertheless, cabooses cost money to build and maintain, so railroads often sought ways to reduce caboose construction and operating costs through design.

This article has been reproduced with permission from Microsoft Games. 

Rebuilding programs were an ongoing aspect of rolling stock maintenance on the MoPac throughout its history.  Technological innovations such as steel carbodies, radios, and cushion underframes were incorporated into its equipment.  MoPac had a massive caboose rebuilding program in the late 1910’s and early 1920’s that upgraded the underframes of many cares.

Beginning in the early 1960’s and continuing through the 1970’s, the MoPac rebuilt and upgraded most of its steel cabooses to modern standards.

Between 1962 and 1979, just over 400 cabooses were rebuilt at the Sedalia shops.

The rebuilding began by completely stripping the car, inside and out, removing all components until only a steel shell remained.  Trucks were removed and refurbished, cast-iron wheels being replaced with wrought-steele wheels, and the airbrake system was reconditioned or replaced.  The old under frame was either removed or modified to accept a Waugh 1-“ cushion under frame and draft gear.  

Interior wood paneling and floor were removed and replaced with plywood sides and linoleum floors, both on wood under framing.  The interior of the caboose was completely rewired for radio and electrical appliances.  The main components of the interior rebuilding consisted of:  replacing coal stoves and coal boxes with new kerosene fired heaters and a 60 gallon kerosene tank; moving radio equipment into 

lockers under the cupola seats or installing radios in cabooses or yet equipped with them; installing flush-type toilets in place of the original dry hoppers; removing the original water barrel and cooler and replacing them with more modern coolers and ice chests; adding overhead water tanks for the cooler and toilet system; eliminating one bunk and refurbishing the remaining two; installing walkover type seats in the cupola; and rearranging components for the best utilization of space.  

On the exterior, wooden window frames and sashes were replaced with aluminum, and any exterior panels that exhibited rust or damage were replaced.  Next the car was primed, repainted, and relettered.  Finally, new electric marker lights were added as well as a white track light used for backup movements.  After an estimated 250-300 man hours, the caboose was ready to return to service. 

The rebuilding process extended the life of nearly 500 cabooses by an additional 20 years.  Those cabooses that were not rebuilt were, for th emost part, retired by the mid 1970’s or were moved t yeard and transfer service.  The rebuilt cabooses strongly complemented the evolving MOPAC fleet of extended vision, long bay window and short bay window cbooses in the mid 1970’s through the 1980’s.