Search:
Type the text to search here and press Enter.
Separate search terms by a space; they will all be searched individually in all fields of the database. Click on Search: to go to the advanced search page.
Classifieds Only: Check this box if you want to search classifieds instead of the catalog.
Please help support TroveStar. Why?

Lone Star - EL.98 - Caboose, Cupola, Wood - Chesapeake & Ohio

This item is not for sale. This is a reference database.
N Scale - Lone Star - EL.98 - Caboose, Cupola, Wood - Chesapeake & Ohio
Click on any image above to open the gallery with larger images.
Sell this item on TroveStar
Sell
Add a comment about this item.
It will be visible at the bottom of this page to all users.
Comment
Stock NumberEL.98
BrandLone Star
ManufacturerLone Star
Body StyleLone Star Train Set
Prototype VehicleCaboose, Cupola, Wood (Details)
Road or Company NameChesapeake & Ohio (Details)
Reporting MarksC&O
Paint Color(s)Blue and Light Gray
Print Color(s)Blue
Coupler TypeOther
Coupler MountTruck-Mount
Wheel TypeChemically Blackened Metal
Wheel ProfileDeep Flange
DCC ReadinessNo
Release Date1965-01-01
Item CategoryPassenger Cars
Model TypeCaboose
Model SubtypeCaboose
Prototype RegionNorth America
Prototype EraNA Era II: Late Steam (1901 - 1938)
Scale1/152



Prototype History:
The origins of the railroad caboose appear to date back to the 1840s when Nat Williams, a conductor of the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad (a later affiliate of the New York Central) became fed up with cramped and uncomfortable quarters to do paperwork (a common job of the conductor, whose responsibility is general oversight and control of a train, passenger or freight), which was usually done in either a free space of a passenger car or combine/baggage car. To fix this problem, Williams found an unused boxcar and using a simple box and barrel, as a seat and desk, set up shop in the car to do his duties. Not only did he find out he had plenty of room to work but also figured that he could use the unused space to store tools (flags, lanterns, spare parts, etc.) and other essentials to have on board whenever needed (such things become commonly stored on the caboose).

Perhaps the most striking feature ever applied to the railroad caboose was its cupola. According to the story, conductor T.B. Watson of the Chicago & North Western in the 1860s reportedly used a hole in a boxcar’s roof (which he was using as a caboose) to get a better vantage point of the train ahead. It is said that Watson was amazed by the view afforded from the position being able to not only see the train ahead but also from all sides, and to the rear as well. He apparently convinced C&NW shop forces to construct a type of open observation box onto an existing singe-level caboose with windows all around where one could sit and view their surroundings. The rest, as they say, is history and the common cupola was born.
Road Name History:
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (reporting marks C&O, CO) was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond to the Ohio River by 1873, where the railroad town (and later city) of Huntington, West Virginia was named for him.

Tapping the coal reserves of West Virginia, the C&O's Peninsula Extension to new coal piers on the harbor of Hampton Roads resulted in the creation of the new City of Newport News. Coal revenues also led the forging of a rail link to the Midwest, eventually reaching Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo in Ohio and Chicago, Illinois.

By the early 1960s the C&O was headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. In 1972, under the leadership of Cyrus Eaton, it became part of the Chessie System, along with the Baltimore and Ohio and Western Maryland Railway. The Chessie System was later combined with the Seaboard Coast Line and Louisville and Nashville, both the primary components of the Family Lines System, to become a key portion of CSX Transportation (CSXT) in the 1980s. A substantial portion of Conrail was added in 1999.

C&O's passenger services ended in 1971 with the formation of Amtrak. Today Amtrak's tri-weekly Cardinal passenger train follows the historic and scenic route of the C&O through the New River Gorge in one of the more rugged sections of the Mountain State. The rails of the former C&O also continue to transport intermodal and freight traffic, as well as West Virginia bituminous coal east to Hampton Roads and west to the Great Lakes as part of CSXT, a Fortune 500 company which was one of seven Class I railroads operating in North America at the beginning of the 21st century.

At the end of 1970 C&O operated 5067 miles of road on 10219 miles of track, not including WM or B&O and its subsidiaries.

Read more on Wikipedia.
Brand/Importer Information:
Lone Star was founded by Aubrey Robert Mills and Sidney James Ambridge in 1939 as the toy division of Die Casting Machine Tools Ltd. (DCMT) of London. DCMT was manufacturing diecasting machines and equipment. DCMT had made some toy cars for Crescent, and diecast toy cap-firing guns, which DCMT supplied under the "Lone Star" brand. "Lone Star" was a name that conjured up images of the Wild West, and while it was a reference to the Texas state flag (with its single star), the name also reminded children of the star-shaped Sheriff's badge that was often a key part of a cowboy costume.

Lone Star Locos appeared in the late 1950s as a range of fairly basic 000-scale diecast miniature trains and track, and were joined in the 1960s by the comparatively short-lived "Treble-O-Lectric" range of "proper" motorised 000-scale electric train sets. The motorised range was discontinued circa 1965. DCMT ceased its operation circa 1988.
The Lone Star Treble-O (triple O) rolling stock was scaled to 2mm to the foot (1:152) and track's gauge was 9mm.
Lone Star paved the way to the N scale model trains that would be soon after introduced by Arnold Rapido.

Read more on Irwin's Journal and on The Brighton Toy and Model Index.
Item created by: james13pugh on 2022-04-29 17:35:15. Last edited by james13pugh on 2022-04-29 17:36:26

If you see errors or missing data in this entry, please feel free to log in and edit it. Anyone with a Gmail account can log in instantly.