Great Northern X71

Steel Caboose

This modern, all-steel caboose was built by the International Car Division of Morrison International Corporation in December, 1963. It was part of two orders for thirty cars (X66 through X85, delivered in '63, and X86 through X95, delivered in '64) which were builder's lot 845. The new steel cabooses replaced older wooden ones, such as X216 and X240.

International offered three basic caboose designed: Standard Cupola, Extended Wide Vision, and Bay Window. In MTM's collection, GN X71, Reserve Mining 18, and BN 10280 exemplify the Standard Cupola, while Soo 22 and Soo 31 exhibit the Extended Wide Vision design.

The exterior was painted GN red with a large GN herald on the car side centered below the cupola, and a small GN herald on the end gate. Roofwalk, railings, platform & steps and underbody were black. The stack was silver. Rectangles of white 3M Scotchlite reflective sheeting formed a dashed line along the bottom edge of the carbody. The curved side grab irons were alternating black & white. The car number appeared on the cupola ends and at each end of the carbody, just inside the curve of the grab iron. A "Radio Equipped" lightning bolt slogan appeared between the GN herald and the car number on the short end. Slant-serif lettering was used on the car exterior.

In 1967 the Great Northern introduced their new "Big Sky Blue" colors. (See box car GN 138660 for an example.) All rolling stock was to be repainted. However, the 1970 merger into the Burlington Northern interrupted the repainting program. The following photo, taken by Brian Ambrose at Paradise, Montana July 5th, 1982 shows that X71 never received Big Sky Blue paint.

The "Radio Equipped" slogan is worth noting. In the 1960's, railroads were in the process of installing radio equipment in locomotives and cabooses for dispatching. This replaced the old line-side telegraph systems, and eliminated the need for staffing every station with an agent who could copy orders and "hoop them up" to the engineer in the locomotive and the conductor in the caboose. During the phase-in period, when not all locomotives and cabooses were radio-equipped, it was worth identifying those that were. Before - and after - the switch to radio dispatching, the "Radio Equipped" logo never appears.

Also of interest is the safety slogan "Work Safely Every Day". The GN had ten safety slogans for cabooses. Which was applied depended on the last digit of the caboose's number. Some of the other safety slogans were:

Technical Data:

X71 was renumbered 10231 in 3/72, almost two years after the BN merger. (We don't have a record of when the BN Cascade Green was applied.) In 1995 it was donated to the Minnesota Transportation Museum by the BN. We have re-opened some of the windows which were plated over (to protect the crews from rock throwers) and changed the number back to X71.

Sources:

• "Great Northern Caboose Cars Nos. X-66 to X-85 and X-86 to X-95" (Great Northern Railway Historical Society Reference Sheet No. 99) by Jack Porzig.
• "Perserved Great Northern Cabooses - Update No. 2" (Great Northern Railway Historical Society Reference Sheet No. 258) by Jack Porzig; data p1.