Bachmann - 16860 - Caboose, Cupola, Steel, NE - Boston & Maine - C 91

Model Information: As far as I can tell, Bachmann introduced this model in 2011 and they did a good job. This "NE Steel Caboose" model is modeled after a fairly common prototype design such as was typically found on many Northeastern Railroads during the post-war period. For example, the CGW's first order of NE-5 cabooses was in 1946.

This model is actually pretty nice piece of 3rd generation N Scale rolling stock. It is a bit on the simple side as far as detail parts, but the excellent complex paint schemes, metal wheels and body mount couplers all make up for this. It also has some nice heft to it when you pick it up. I have not attempted a coupler swap but as a caboose typically appears at the end of a train, it is not quite as critical to change these out as it might be with a typical freight car.

Prototype History: The Northeast or NE style caboose was introduced by the Reading Railroad in 1924. The design was an all-steel version of a USRA design. The acquisition of these new cabooses was prompted by proposed Pennsylvania legislation requiring larger, more structurally sound caboose for use in through freight consists. The original set of cabooses was ordered from AC&F, but other manufacturers also adopted similar designs.

The Reading selection was made after the consideration of several designs. The original purchase was for 10 cars in 1924, but the design was so effective that it became the de-facto Reading standard and they continued purchasing new cabooses of this type through 1948. The design soon became popular with other Northeastern railroads such as the WM, L&NE, LV, CNJ and others.

Road Name History: The Andover and Wilmington Railroad was incorporated March 15, 1833, to build a branch from the Boston and Lowell Railroad at Wilmington, Massachusetts, north to Andover, Massachusetts. The line opened to Andover on August 8, 1836. The name was changed to the Andover and Haverhill Railroad on April 18, 1837, reflecting plans to build further to Haverhill, Massachusetts (opened later that year), and yet further to Portland, Maine, with the renaming to the Boston and Portland Railroad on April 3, 1839, opening to the New Hampshire state line in 1840.

The Boston and Maine Railroad was chartered in New Hampshire on June 27, 1835, and the Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts Railroad was incorporated March 12, 1839, in Maine, both companies continuing the proposed line to South Berwick, Maine. The railroad opened in 1840 to Exeter, New Hampshire, and on January 1, 1842, the two companies merged with the Boston and Portland to form a new Boston and Maine Railroad.

The B&M flourished with the growth of New England's mill towns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but still faced financial struggles. It came under the control of J. P. Morgan and his New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad around 1910, but anti-trust forces wrested control back. Later it faced heavy debt problems from track construction and from the cost of acquiring the Fitchburg Railroad, causing a reorganization in 1919.

By 1980, though still a sick company, the B&M started turning around thanks to aggressive marketing and its purchase of a cluster of branch lines in Connecticut. The addition of coal traffic and piggyback service also helped. In 1983 the B&M emerged from bankruptcy when it was purchased by Timothy Mellon's Guilford Transportation Industries for $24 million. This was the beginning of the end of the Boston & Maine corporate image, and the start of major changes, such as the labor issues which caused the strikes of 1986 and 1987, and drastic cost cutting such as the 1990 closure of B&M's Mechanicville, New York, site, the largest rail yard and shop facilities on the B&M system.

Guilford Rail System changed its name to Pan Am Railways in 2006. Technically, Boston & Maine Corporation still exists today but only as a non-operating ward of PAR. Boston & Maine owns the property (and also employs its own railroad police), while Springfield Terminal Railway, a B&M subsidiary, operates the trains and performs maintenance. This complicated operation is mainly due to more favorable labor agreements under Springfield Terminal's rules.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Brand/Importer Information: Bachmann Industries (Bachmann Brothers, Inc.) is a Bermuda registered Chinese owned company, globally headquartered in Hong Kong; specializing in model railroading.

Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the home of its North American headquarters, Bachmann is today part of the Kader group, who model products are made at a Chinese Government joint-venture plant in Dongguan, China. Bachmann's brand is the largest seller, in terms of volume, of model trains in the world. Bachmann primarily specializes in entry level train sets, and premium offerings in many scales. The Spectrum line is the high quality, model railroad product line, offered in N, HO, Large Scale, On30, and Williams O gauge all aimed for the hobbyist market. Bachmann is the producer of the famous railroad village product line known as "Plasticville." The turnover for Bachmann model trains for the year ended 31 December 2006 was approximately $46.87 million, a slight increase of 3.36% as compared to 2005.