Craig presented a comprehensive history of Ann Arbor Railroad cabooses, documenting various paint schemes and modifications over time. He covered the evolution from the original Wabash-built cabooses in 1945-1955 through multiple ownership changes including DT&I and Grand Trunk, as well as special variations like the Michigan Art Train scheme. The presentation included detailed information about specific paint schemes, herald variations, and modifications made by different railroads, with particular attention to distinguishing features between Wabash-built and International Car Company versions.
Craig described Ann Arbor caboose variations, detailing the history of 17 caboose builds with 15 still existing across Ohio and Michigan. He discussed various paint schemes including the standard 1950s red scheme, red and white scheme with blue letters, and post-1964 N&W variations with different door configurations and roof styles. Craig included information about current model options from manufacturers like Walters and Carroll Avenue Shops, emphasizing the importance of accurate modeling and making research materials available to enthusiasts. Craig also described how the requirement for expensive safety glass led to the frugal practice of blanking out windows.
Other attendees shared stories about caboose features, particularly the conductor’s desk lamp that was included in models from manufacturers like Overland and 3D printed versions.
The conversation then shifted to a slideshow presentation of photographs from various model railroad layouts, showcasing different scales and eras, with Craig sharing stories about visiting these layouts and their owners.
He shared images from various modelers’ layouts including Jack’s, Norm’s, Dan Holbrook’s, Doug’s, and others. He explained his photography approach, noting that Jack was particular about avoiding backdrop distractions that would make layouts appear artificial rather than realistic. Craig demonstrated his photo editing techniques, including adding real skies and removing corners, and showed examples of detailed modeling work including signal systems, buildings, and train operations across different railroads and eras.
Craig explained his photography techniques, particularly using a Gucci X10 camera set to F11 aperture for capturing detailed images during operating sessions, often with exposure times of 3-5 seconds at ISO 400 or 800.
Presentation
Here’s the presentation slides from Craig’s clinic.
Video
Here’s the video of the full clinic.
Note that we had some technical challenges with the presentation, so some of the details in the presentation are not at full resolution; we apologize for that oversight. Use the provided PDF of the presentation, in the preceding section, for reference to the presentation slides.