:)1886 was the day of change in the Southern states. the Mobile & Ohio Railroad made the change to standard gauge of 4'81/2" with the L&N R.R. staying with its 4'9"..........Royce Wilson

 :)Harold when I was in HOn3 I milled box cars from wood blocks and then covered them with scribbing and grab irons and such. the only problem is the doors are permnantely shut, but it makes for quick house cars and you can make them any length. they also do not need any added weight.

there was also numerous 42" railroads in the south and loads of logging companies and please don't forget the Canadians!

good luck with your S scale 1870's......Royce

  Or if you are from above the Mason-Dixon line, it s "U'ins".

    white house on Oak Street in Atlanta.....Royce

  Is there any site on 30 inch modeling in Australia?         Royce

  Dusten it would be simpler if you requested a Hog Warts Express in On30...Royce

If Bachmann made the funeral train in American O scale it would be the wrong gauge for the Lincoln funeral train.
O scale was made to same gauge as the old tinplate 3 rail in the U.S. so it would be a 5 foot gauge instead of the standard gauge used in the northern states.    Royce

 
AHM did make the funeral car . just try to find one!
they are collectors items now.    Royce

 
Hi Harold! thanks for all the work you have done, you know one talen talent you have is writting instructions well.,I know I don't.
the conversion is nice. have you tried the JIm Ellis approach to backdating the tender?
I have purchased the PSC flared tender corners and cut my stock BLI tender down and all that is left is build the new top dek from sheet styrene .
I have removed the boiled and completely removed everything, I hate cast on details! I thought we past that in the 1970's PSC baldwind domes look much better. actually the boiler is more work,but fun. mine is about half way complete.    Royce Wilson

    I model in On30 and have converted a C&S Grandt Line caboose to a Denver South Park & Pacific 1886 way car.
I will not recomend this to a novice or beginner as the underframe has to be rebuilt.
Grandt does sell the parts seperate, I had to purchase 2 seperate sides to bash a South Park bobber.
the problem you are gonna find is the Grandt line kit is quite extensive with a lot of parts that will not be used if you do not modify the rest of your fleet to match it. this caboose was built prior to the Union Pacific takeover and had no air brakes. the C&S has to squeeze the air brake under this carriage to meet federal law,it has often been a debate amoung C&S historians as to why did they not just build new cabooses like the D&RGW did. it builds into a beautiful model as is in On3,but as Woody said when you regage it there is sooooo much detail under this model it will interfere.
the jest of it is the Grandt line kits(all of them) are a work of art and fun to build, but my advice is to expermint on what you have, heck its fun to cut and bash.
take the Bachmann caboose and a razor saw and shorten it put a four wheel carriage under it, then if you have not airbrushed you need to get one. the new generation are cheap and it will open a whole new world for you.
I model 1886 Colorado and purchase Bachmann boxcars and cut bash and lengthen them. a lot of Grandt line parts and a air brushed  model and its kinda hard to tell its ancrestory.
If I was building a shortline narrow gauge quarry outfit that needed a caboose the most simple option is to shorthen a bachmann caboose and have fun, find a hobby shop in your are, even if they do not have trains plastics and styerene are the same. we can learn a lot from military modelers, ever look at there weathering? check out a magazine called "Fine Scale Modeler. its mostely about tanks,planes and military stuff, but it is packed with air brush techniques and weathering.
Royce  Wilson

Yeah, a Mason Bogie!
                           Royce Wilson

Dusten
         I disconnected  the bulb in my mogul , in the days of steam headlamps were only turned on at low light or night.
                                                                           Royce