Description
The Half-Bay Window was a design championed by the New York Central and their successors and was adopted by a handful of other roads. When researching railroads, the "what" happened is often easy to find. The "why" it happened is more often then not an educated guess that is repeated until it becomes common wisdom. The guess for the existence of the Half-Bay Window design was to give the railroad the visibility of the bay window while still clearing low and tight obstructions such as through girder bridges and depot platforms.
Burlington Northern phase 4 caboose number 11702 was a bit of an oddball. Unlike BN’s 1977 order for phase 4 cars and most of the repainted Frisco fleet, this former Frisco car had its BN logo, lettering and road number painted to the left of the bay window. This left plenty of room to put the con-stencil on the right (where most railroads put them.
