I have this caboose for sale built from a Hartford kit. I picked it up from an estate last year. It can be yours for $75 (or best offer) plus shipping.
I finally got it on the workbench and fixed the couple of minor issues. Someone built it from a Hartford kit - here’s the extract from the Hartford catalog:
This kit is a faithful reproduction of the No. 3 caboose used on the Sierra Nevada Wood and Lumber Company (later
renamed the Hobart Estates Co. in 1894) from some time prior to 1894 until cessation of operations in 1937.
Originally built by Carter Brothers of San Francisco (or perhaps Hammond) as a four-wheel “bobber” with link and
pin couplers, swing motion trucks and knuckle couplers were substituted later on. The only photographs we have
been able to locate of the Hobart cabooses are of Nos. 2 and 3; we do not know if there ever was a No. 1. The No.
2 caboose is very similar to the No. 3, the primary difference being in the construction of the underframe and the
cupola windows. As a result, No. 2 was some 4" - 6" taller than No. 3. Also, the cupola of No. 2 was replaced at
some time with one with vertical sides. This kit includes Carter Bros. Trucks.
The steps protrude from the end platforms and are very delicate, so a prior owner had added a wooden block to anchor them. I also had to solder the whitemetal casting back together on one of them. 2 brake beams are missing, although 1 came with the caboose and is included. Kadee couplers are included.
As you can see, it has wheel pickups (they look like Aristo parts?) The interior and marker lamps are lit.
The big wooden support is actually bolted into by a bolt from below, holding the roof securely in place.
It comes with a smoke unit that plugs in to the stove (brake beam on the left):
The smoke unit has never been fitted, as the hole in the roof is too small! It could be wired in with a switch if the next owner were so inclined. I figured the caboose looked silly with a hole in the roof, so I hastily sprayed a tube with a washer and added it - clearly visible in the 2nd photo.
The Carter Bros swing-action trucks are very nice, and the doors open as you can see:
An all-round neat little caboose. But too tall for my small locomotives, and I have nowhere to put it.
Send me a PM with any questions.