Rapido Trains Inc. 225003 HO D&RGW End Cupola As-built Steel Caboose: Black Scheme: #01408

Ready. Set. ACTION (road)! Here comes the HO Scale Denver & Rio Grande Western 01400 Series Steel Riveted Caboose — a first in plastic. This iconic caboose was a standard on D&RGW trains for over 45 years, plying the rails of the Moffat Line. We're even more excited to offer this caboose with a bucket full of details and lighting features! Check out the video above or by clicking here, then we can look at some of the painted samples and the unique history.

In 1940, D&RGW embarked on updating their caboose fleet with steel cabooses. The 01400 Series Cabooses were homebuilt at their Burnham shops in Denver, Colorado. Being built by the railroad made these cars unique. The ladders, cupola and corner posts are all distinctive spotting features of these cabooses.

From 1940 to 1951, 70 Steel Riveted Cabooses were built in batches of 10. The series would later continue production until 1959 with a welded car body. Over the years these cabooses would see multiple changes and rebuilds, several cupola and car body window variations, with the later riveted versions sporting a backup light and EOT light mounted over the ends.

After the combination of the Rio Grande and Southern Pacific in 1988, many of these cars would remain in service for a few more years before retirement in 1992. At least one car survived the 1996 UP merger in local service before finally being withdrawn in the early 2000s.

The Rapido D&RGW Steel Riveted Caboose features:

• Super-detailed underbody including all separate air and brake piping
  
• Etched metal road numbers included in polybag
  
• Full interior lighting
  
• All-wheel electrical pickup
  
• Barber-Bettendorf trucks with friction and roller bearings where appropriate
  
• See-through, etched metal steps and walkways
  
• Full end detail, including uncoupling levers
  
• Separate grab irons installed at factory
  
• Metal knuckle couplers mounted at correct height