PRR Focal Orange N5C Cabin Car #477911

 Greetings All,

Caboose / Cabin Car Spotlight #1-2022

Welcome to the first caboose / cabin car spotlight!! On the New York Central it was known as a caboose, on the Pennsylvania RR a cabin car and on the Penn Central after much argument it was known as a caboose or a cabin car depending on who you asked.

Model Information

The HO scale PRR N5C caboose model is a Bowser kit that I purchased in June, 2022 as part of my great train store haul. 

Here is the kit ready for assembly.

The parts have been dull coated with Testors Dullcote, the factory included weight and additional weights have been painted flat black.

Newly built cabin car #477911 passes Bedford Tower. A big difference between the PRR cabin car and NYC caboose are the thick steel structural supports on the ends of the PRR cars. The cabin cars were built to be placed between locomotives and freight cars and shoved up the Alleghanies and around Horseshoe Curve while their NYC counterparts enjoyed travel on the water level route..  

The focal orange 47911 is a good looking car. I've added extra weight, clear plastic windows, metal wheelsets and Kadee #5s to the car for enhanced looks and operation.

Prototype Information

The Pennsylvania RR introduced their home built N5C cabin car in 1942. The N5C utilized the distinctive round porthole windows and a large streamlined cupola.

The PRR N5C cabin cars were numbered 477820 - 478019.  As constructed the N5C was painted "freight car color" and the roofs were tarred black to prevent leaks. In 1955 the large PRR shadow keystone and "Pennsylvania" lettering were added.

Photo by Vilseskogen courtesy of Openverse.

In June 1965 the cabin car color was changed to focal orange or safety orange with a keystone herald and the word "Pennsylvania" removed. 

The Bowser caboose box lets us know this N5C is in the new style lettering. This would be the last cabin car paint scheme for the PRR. The #54010 is a bit misleading as it is the product number and not the cabin car number. 

 

When the PRR N5C cabin cars were conveyed to the Penn Central they were renumbered 23000 - 23179. Here is a Bowser model that I painted a few years ago.

Penn Central 23045 sports full lettering, a very large number and sub-lettering that tells us this N5C belongs to the Northern Region Canada Division.

Only the PC car in the background tells us the ex PRR RS-1 and cabin car 477911 are resting at Bedford Park Yard just after the PRR-NYC merger.

Final Thoughts

The Bowser kit is well done and provides an accurate representation of the PRR N5C cabin car. The steel supports and steps are a bit fragile and the holes for their pins may need to be drilled out very slightly to avoid damaging them. 

Modelers using the Bowser N5C in model railroad operations should consider adding additional weight as I did when building the kit. Out of the box it is quite light and if you intend on shoving it between freight cars and locomotives the additional weight will help keep the cabin car on the tracks.

All in all these are good looking models and with a little extra work they will be good operating models as well.

Prototype Photos

I couldn't find a photo the 477911 but a 1966 photo of PRR 477913 can be found here.

PRR 477911 was renumbered to Penn Central 23024 and received a full PC paint job. A prototype photo from 1974 can be found here.

You can see the prototype 23045 photographed in 1979 here.

Thanks for reading!!!

See you soon!!!