From the Editor

February 2025 and the weather is cold indeed! Perfect for model/layout building and I am assuming everyone is busy with 'their projects. I have to "assume" everyone is very busy since I have not received any images of projects to share in the Train Order (BIG HINT). In this issue we have a new Observations article by Larry Hickman which provides a first hand insight into the ubiquitous railroad caboose. Also in this issue a little story on the very short (and short lived) Swan Creek Railroad that once existed in Toledo. Never heard of it? Well, I think most have not and it would be hard to tell today that it ever actually existed.

I hope you enjoy this issue of the Train Order and it's look back at cabooses and one of the forgotten railroads of Toledo.

View from the Cab

Once again, I want to remind everyone of the BIG CHANGE THIS YEAR - Our meetings are on the SECOND FRIDAY of each month. As a result our next meeting is Friday February 14th! Our January meeting was lighter in attendance than normal. I am hopeful it was just the bad weather that day and not a sign of things to come.

Modeling Challenge! - HERE WE ARE! Our February 14th meeting is where we will each show what we did with the kit. We are looking forward to seeing what everyone has done. THIS IS NOT A CONTEST!! This is for fun, to learn, and push our skills. With all that said, we will have more kits than we can fit in our meeting. If you were at the January meeting, we did allow a few people to delay until the March meeting. If you really must delay, we can allow a couple more to do so, but you must contact me ASAP (mstull@marshallstull.com).

our clinic this month to give everyone time to show and talk about what they did/learned. Show and Tell will still happen for those who wish to bring something else to show.

Saturday Open House - In order to avoid the Saline Train Show, our layout open house will be on February 22nd with Mike Bruss' Union Santa Fe and Southern Railroad. 10:30AM to 2:00PM.

Elections

2025 is an election year for us. All positions are up for election. If you would like to volunteer/run for one of these offices, please let me or any board member know. A list of the positions and the basic responsibilities of each is listed below. All terms are for 2 years.

Superintendent

• In charge of Division One and presides at all meetings of Division One and the Division One Board of Officers
• Represent the division and serve as a director on the North Central Region's Board of Officers
• Appoints Chair of Special Committees as required

Assistant Superintendent

• Preside at meetings when the Superintendent is absent
• Will assume the duties of the superintendent should the office of superintendent become vacant
• Arranges for programs at regular meetings such as: clinics, layout tours, and prototype tours

Chief Clerk

• Keep the minutes of all Division One meetings and the Board of Officers meetings.
• Arrange for the preparation and distribution of ballots as required (election years only)

Treasurer

• Present the budget to the membership at the first regular meeting of the fiscal year
• Has custody of the financial reports and all moneys, funds and property of Division One
• Receive all moneys
• Disperse funds as directed by the Board of Officers/budget

Trainmaster for Services

• Responsible for the "house set up" and arranging for refreshments for meetings and outings.
• Responsible for other meeting related duties as delegated by the superintendent/board.

Director At Large (2)

• Member of the Board of Officers
• Adds to oversite and direction

I look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting!

Marshall Stull,
mstull@marshallstull.com
Superintendent

Clinic Corner

The clinic this month IS the Bar Mills Kit Build Challenge. Everyone who got a kit should bring 'their kit in and show what they did. Good, bad or ugly, that was part of the deal, you had to do something. With 17 kits to review, it will be very difficult to get everyone in. As a result, at the January meeting, we did allow who volunteered, to delay until March. This was a select few. If you really must delay, we can allow a couple more to do so, but you must contact Marshall ASAP (mstull@marshallstull.com).

See you there,

Brian Burr,
Assistant Superintendent

February 14th Meeting Agenda

• Rip Track Table - Have items you want to sell or just give away? Put them on the table
• Business
• Q&A - Ask our members about anything
• Show and Tell - other than Bar Mills kits
• Break
• Door Prizes
• Clinic - Bar Mills Build Challenge
• Closing Remarks - Announcements and Open Discussion Points

Doors open at 6:00PM, Meeting Starts at 7:00PM
Proclaim FM Community Center
7112 Angola Road,
Holland, OH 43528.

The lighter side of the hobby

Open House - Saturday, February 22nd

January Meeting Highlights

The following items were brought for Show and Tell in January;

Marshall Stull showed a micro layout he built for a shoe box layout contest. On display it fit into a football display case no bigger than 9" x 12". It had a circular track and was lighted using mini LED's depicting a Christmas Tree Farm.

Jeff Schumacher displayed some very small figures he obtained and offered the challenge, what kind of animal are they; I was wrong! They were dogs, cats, skunks and seagulls in HO scale.

Steve Kellogg brought in an Athearn standard observation car he modified with AC ducts and underbody details. Steve also repainted it and decaled it. Steve also showed how he identified his locomotive using a tag on the underside of each with info like, decoder type and various CV values.

Tony Kukwa displayed numerous freight cars that he has rescued and revitalized with new paint schemes and detail. All nicely done!

Brad Hicks showed a loco he built from scratch using 3D printing technology. This model is in N scale and is very highly detailed. Brad designed the model himself and has assisted others to create similar models. This particular model is one of a kind with special attention to the details and scale of all components.

OBSERVATIONS - by Larry Hickman

Every railroad has names for their cabooses. Some were called waycars, crummy, cabin car, bobber or just plain caboose, while on some railroads the original caboose maybe an old outside braced boxcar with windows and a door cut in the sides in the early years. At times during the many trips working the road on the Pennsylvania Railroad and later on Penn Central and Conrail the conversation about living on the caboose was brought up, with many of the old conductors and brakemen from the various railroads. Some enjoyed telling me stories, while others seldom talked about it. Many of these employees were hard to get along with, until you earned their respect. There were whole trips where few words were spoken, except if it pertained to the job. Those willing to talk about working with steam engines and various employees made the job go faster. I heard from many old heads how some conductors worked, lived and decorated the inside of their caboose. Many had carpets, curtains and table cloths their wives made for the convenience of their husbands as well as cooking utensils etc. Kerosene lights and their hangers were screwed into the wall over the table and where needed to furnish light. In later years these were replaced by 12 volt lights. Many explain how the railroad would supply the paint for the inside, stain or varnish for the wooden floors, while the employees supplied the labor. One old conductor told me about painting half the caboose while going to their away from home terminal and painting the other half returning. The railroad took care of the outside maintenance, while the crews were responsible for the inside.

A PRR Cabin Car could sleep six persons comfortably with two on the bottom and two hanging like bunk beds from the walls, with two more in the cupola on horse hair black mattresses two inches thick. Each caboose had locker storage for various tools, wire, flags, kerosene for the inside lights and markers as well as for clothing, brooms etc. In later years an alternator was attached by a belt to the wheels powering the lights and markers. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Many times we dropped water on the belt to get it to spin and have working lights. Many times the batteries were so old the lights went out when stopped and came back on when moving. A toilet was located in one of the small closets and drained onto the right of way in the middle of the rails. In later years these were replaced by self contained chemical toilets using chorine tablets and larger rooms for toilets. On occasions the Car Department overfilled these containers and we refused these cabooses, until only the proper amount was dropped inside the container. We had one conductor received disability because of these tablets scaring his lungs. A wash basin and small sink received water from a large water tank located on the ceiling and filled by through a pipe from an outside connection using a water hose. A large ice box with twelve inch blocks of ice cooled the water during this time period. Water was stored in a round metal container covered by a metal lid used as a shared cup for quenching your thrust. Later plastic water bottles started to show up, with crushed ice in plastic bags just before Conrail. All First Aid paraphernalia were stored in a red box marked with a Red Cross Insignia and screwed to the wall. A red holder for individual Fusees and Torpedoes could be found above the desk chair across from the stove. Occasionally equipment from the obsolete train phones could still be seen in a couple of these cabooses. A variety of miscellaneous paperwork would be stored inside a small cabinet behind the desk consisting of extra wheel reports, accident reports etc.

During this time period many conductors required persons entering to take off their shoes outside and enter with just their socks, while regular crew members had slippers. The early stoves were made of cast iron and burned coal, while the later ones used fuel oil. I did ride in an Erie Lackawanna caboose that still burned coal when Conrail first started. I ate many a meal at different times on trips and work trains cooked by brakeman and conductors on many these cabooses. On work trains everyone from the train crew to maintenance of way employees chipped in money for groceries. The caboose was parked close to the work and one of the crew members walked into town bought groceries and cooked the meals. When the crew arrived at their away from home terminal the caboose was removed from the train and spotted on the Cab Track. The outbound crew's caboose was removed from this location and tied onto the train. If you were called off the extra board to fill a vacancy during this time period some conductors wouldn't allow an extra man to eat or sleep in their caboose causing many to find their own way at these away from home terminals. The YMCA was strictly for passenger crews according to many. I remember a little beanery across from the roundhouse that was full of railroaders and cigarette smoke when I first hired out. It was like walking into a pool hall when I was in high school. The old roundhouse in Crestline was still being used by the crew dispatcher and we reported and marked off work at this location. In the early years the engineer and fireman had an area in the old round house to bunk, while some had living arrangement in rooming houses or some cases railroad families. As the years passed the old beanery became just a shell as the old heads died off and later it burnt down.

On my first trip from Toledo to Crestline I was lucky and could now stay at the old YMCA, while the railroad paid for the room, but you paid for your own meals. This was a good place to eat as even the local town population would eat there for Sunday dinners. The bunk room consisted of a curtain in front of a single bed, with a locker for all your clothes including hats, gloves, bibs, grip or suitcase etc. Your wallet was put inside the front of your pillow when you went to sleep. There was nothing like hearing the body language from snoring to gas. Those coming back from the bars made enough noise to wake the dead. The restroom required you to get dress and walk up a flight of stairs to do your thing and then return hoping to find your room in the dark. At least in Conway's YMCA you had a metal door in front of the bed that locked. When called for work a crew caller would shake your feet and tell you it was time to go to work. After a period of time if you didn't show, one of your crew members would check on you. There wasn't much to do, except play cards, watch television or go to the VFW, Legion Hall or local bars. There were a couple of restaurants you could walk to for eating, if you wanted a change of pace.

According to some, conductors lost their individual cabooses somewhere back in the late fifties or early sixties. The railroad no longer wanted to switch individual cabooses from the Cab Track back and forth to trains. They found it cost effective to put road cabooses in a pool, so now any caboose could be on any train. The locals and outpost jobs still had assigned cabooses, but these were assigned to the job not to the conductor. Some were kept in good shape, while others were nothing but a box on wheels just like the shoving platforms. Riding in a Pennsylvania Railroad Cabin Car was like sitting on a bucking bronco. They swayed back and forth and bounced up and down with every bump. You didn't stick your head out the window to check the train as the train's slack would run in and out causing you to bump your head on the metal runner where the window set in. You never knew what would happen, so as you moved around handholds were required. The bay window cabooses were better as you didn't have to climb into the cupola, but could rest your knees on the seat and look over the train. Overall the best riding cabooses were those from the Southern Pacific Railroad. We didn't get many, but these were like riding on a cushion of air compared to the others. I don't know if it was the trucks or what, but these were great to ride in.

When cabooses were still being used Cab Tracks could be found at both ends in major yards. A Cab Track consisted of a small siding located close to the outbound tracks, where cabooses could be set or pulled from either end and consisted of various storage buildings for storing caboose supplies. Many of these were just antiquated boxcars having the large door remove and replaced with a regular door, either setting on railroad ties or in most cases right on the ground. Inside you would find the usual supplies on shelves to replace those used on the trip. Car Department personal was supposed to replace supplies, sweep out the caboose and check the water and fuel. There is usually someplace where block ice is stored and either a coal bunker or fuel oil tank for heating depending upon the railroad. In most cases city water is used to fill the overhead water tank by a hose, but in some cases well water may be used at some outpost locations. Many times these were hot stoved, which is a railroad term for never going on the Cab Track. Back in the middle eighties there were only a few cabooses left for trains. So the powers to be decided the fuel tank for fueling cabooses was removed near the Departure Tracks. I worked the regular TOMY-MYTO from Toledo to Motor Yard, which really terminated at Twinsburg Yard outside of Cleveland on the C&P Branch. It was in the winter and we usually picked up at Sandusky, Vermillion or Fairland where the Ford Plant was located and occasionally Elyria. I got on my caboose at Stanley Yard and checked everything, except there was no fuel oil showing on the fuel dipstick. I called the Car Department stating I needed fuel oil or we weren't leaving. Ponco from the Car Department showed up with six or seven plastic gallon jugs of fuel oil. Ponco was a big man and after agreeing with me went about his business of fueling the caboose. The only problem was the fuel oil pipe was located high on the side of the caboose. He didn't have any funnel to set in the fuel oil pipe and no ladder. As he began the task of filling the fuel oil tank over his head, it slowly started running down his jacket sleeve and onto his shoes. I watched as he started talking to himself stating. Oh thee wife she's going to kill me as he continued filling the fuel oil pipe and mumbling to himself over and over. Ponco you been working in the puel oil again not fuel oil. It's all over your jacket and shoes. You're not coming into my house smelling of puel oil. As he finished at least a gallon of fuel oil had dribbled from these plastic jugs onto his jacket and shoes and everything around the caboose smelled of fuel oil. I never did find out how this ended with his wife, but you can only imagine. After receiving the fuel oil a hi-ball was given to the engineer and we departed Stanley Yard.

Enjoy the hobby and have fun.

The Swan Creek Railroad - by Marshall Stull

While looking at historical maps on the old canals that once crossed Toledo, I came across a unique little railroad. What caught my eye was the name, "Swan Creek RR", which I found on a Sanborn Insurance map. This appeared on the 1905 map and showed that the railroad hugged the North side of Swan Creek, servicing the several industries. It was a nice, compact and busy looking little railroad. The name "Swan Creek" is known by anyone that knows anything about Toledo history. The confluence of Swan Creek and the Maumee River defined the city of Toledo early on. It was very captivating to see a railroad named after it and I had to find out more. With some research I found a couple versions of the history of this little railroad. From what I could piece together the Swan Creek Railroad actually ceased to exist after 1897 but yet it appears on this 1905 map. The following is a summary about the Swan Creek Railroad taken from the available sources to try and piece together the history of this little line.

The Swan Creek Railroad (SCRR) was first planned in 1875 by Conrad Huberich and Emil Richers. The enterprise met with substantial encouragement and construction was started in the spring of 1876. The SCR was opened to traffic in August 1876. The line was started at Division street and ran along and near Swan Creek to where the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroad (New York Central) Air Line Junction. The SCRR switch was just west of the Swan Creek Tower and veered North directly across from the tower. The tower most likely would have controlled access to this line. This location does beg the question, was the tower named because of the junction with the SCRR or the fact it was next to Swan creek?

Later the railroad was extended from the intersection of Bismarck to Hamilton street, where it connected with the Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City Railroad which later became part of the Toledo, St. Louis & Western (Clover Leaf) and later the Nickle Plate Road. Thus the railroad was a private entity from 1875 until sometime in 1889 when the LS&MS purchased the entire capital stock. In 1897, the LS&MS leased the SCRR for "the term of corporate existence". When the New York Central Railroad consolidated the LS&MS and other lines, the paper entity of the SCRR ceased to exist. It is probable that the Swan Creek Railroad operated independently with its own equipment and employees up until the LS&MS buyout of 1889. After that it may have operated in cooperation with the LS&MS but still retained a visual aspect of being its own entity. After 1897, there would be nothing with the label Swan Creek Railroad.

The customers of the SCRR were not small. Many industries resided on the banks of Swan Creek in the early days of Toledo. One of the more interesting would be the Huebner Brewing Company. The location at the corner of Hamilton and Division Streets had been a brewery since 1865. Started by Peter Lenk and named City Brewery, the location was very strategic with access to a navigable section of Swan Creek. It's no wonder the Swan Creek Railroad started from this location and expanded both east and west from here. This made the transportation of raw materials and finished goods very easy and profitable. The original brewery comprised two five-story brick buildings one for a brewhouse and the other for storage and malt production. The facilities even included ice houses and the vaults for the storage of beer.

John Huebner joined the company as a brewmaster in 1877 and when Peter Lenk died in 1893, Huebner and James Pilliod, a Toledo attorney, became the sole owners of the brewery. With Huebner as President, the company saw tremendous success, making it the city's largest brewery. Huebner's success fueled his ambition. Under his initiative, The Toledo Brewing & Malting Co purchased The Schmitt Brewing Co and The Maumee Brewing Co. Shortly thereafter, in 1902, the business was incorporated as the Huebner Brewing Company. The company prospered until prohibition put an end to everything. The buildings still stand today with the Huebner name still visible on the Swan Creek side.

The brewery was just one of several businesses that were served by the Swan Creek Railroad. The area has many interesting and model worthy locations. If you prefer a more modern era, the line operated into the diesel era under the New York Central and Penn Central. I have not been able to find an exact date when service ended on the line, but the Swan Creek Tower was removed in the 1980s and until that time, the line was still showing on track diagrams that I have been able to find. If you know more specifics on this little line, please let me know!

Sources:

• 1952 NYC green book of annual reports
• Memoirs of Lucas County and the City of Toledo
• New York Central System Historical Society (NYCSHS) Central Headlight 3rd Quarter 1992

Upcoming Events

If you know about an event happening in our division (or nearby), please let us know so we can make everyone aware. If a club is having an open house, setup, or other activities, we could help promote it!