Re: Before spray cans . . . there were side-door Cabeese!

guymonmd Wrote:
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>
> I've seen lots of yellow colored D&RG(W) cabooses
> with black lettering.
> Here is the closest I can quickly find to the one
> in the photo.
> The caboose is a drovers caboose. They were used
> to house and bunk the stockmen caring for the
> animals on a train hauling livestock.

No, what we are seeing is not a drover's caboose. That Hattons listing is a faux paint scheme on a foobie model that is loosely based on D&RGW 215, which as far as I know never received the bumblebee paint scheme which is entirely a fabrication of the 1950s-era marketing department and not really based on any historic 19th century equipment.

The caboose in the photo is a normal, everyday standard run-of-the-mill standard gauge caboose with no relation to nor assignment for livestock moving. The side door was very common on 19th century cabooses as a precursor to the bay window; they were called observation doors and allowed the crew to look out down the sides of the train without having to step out onto the end platforms.