Red Caboose - RN-16611-09 - Flatcar, 73 Foot, Centerbeam - Washington Central - 7323

Prototype History: Centerbeam flatcars, centerbeams, center partition railcars or commonly referred to as lumber racks are specialty cars designed for carrying bundled building supplies such as dimensional lumber, wallboard, and fence posts. They are essentially bulkhead flatcars that have been reinforced by a longitudinal I-beam, often in the form of a Vierendeel truss, sometimes reinforced by diagonal members, but originally in the form of stressed panels perforated by panel-lightening "opera windows", often oval, egg-shaped or rectangular. They must be loaded symmetrically, with half of the payload on one side of the centerbeam and half on the other to avoid tipping over.

Road Name History: Washington Central Railroad (WCRC) was the Washington state short line that acquired most of the east side of the Stampede Pass route when BN closed the pass and sold off the east side east of Cle Elum, WA. Nick Temple and his family were the principals.

This line started in 1986 by the Temple Family as a spin off of Burlington Northern operating two groups of routes on the east side of Stampede Pass in Washington. The Yakima Valley Division ran from Pasco through Yakima to Cle Elum plus four branches. The Moses Lake Division ran from Connell to Wheeler plus branches to Othello, Schrag and Moses Lake. In addition to freight service, WCRC operated the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train. Ten years later, BNSF decided they wanted the Stampede Pass route back and bought the WCRC. They then sold the Moses Lake Division back to the Temples who operate it today as the Columbia Basin Railroad. Washington Central is now part of BNSF.

Brand/Importer Information: Originally Red Caboose was a manufacturer of HO and N Scale model railroading items. It was located in Mead, Colorado, and was founded in 1990 by Leon Fairbanks. Red Caboose manufactured highly accurate, well detailed N, HO, and O Scale freight cars and locomotives.

Red Caboose closed its doors in January of 2015. Red Caboose N Scale has been sold to Fox Valley Models and HO was sold to InterMountain Railway. Many of the Red Caboose toolings have seen re-releases from Fox Valley since the acquisition. We just wish they would clean up the underframes. Red Caboose always went light on the details where they thought people wouldn't look.

Manufacturer Information: While they were in business, Red Caboose split its production runs between the US and China. Which models were produced where was a function of which body style and which run. Furthermore, which Chinese company was used for production is something we would love to find out.