Part of the original group of Atlas O model trains, the Wide-Vision Caboose retailed for $8 during its time in the 1970s product line. The four roadnames offered matched up to the roads found on Atlas' F9 diesel. I have a 1980 Atlas catalog, which appears to be near the end of this Roco-made group of 1:48th model trains, with the Wide-Vision Caboose listed in only Santa Fe and UP. Atlas literature noted the model was based on an International Car Corp. design. The spring of 2005 saw the return of many of Atlas' classic 1970s O scale toolings in the company's Trainman series. The Wide-Vision Caboose was among the models to make a come back in 2005.

The Wide-Vision Caboose model weighes 5.5 ounces and is all plastic in construction with the exception of its metal axles housed inside the plastic cast wheels. The model is 37 scale feet in length. Window patterns on the caboose are the same on both sides of the shell. The running boards and separate pieces, as it the smoke stack on the roof. Steps and porch end floors include tread pattern. The brakewheels are separately applied to the end railings and ladders, which are themselves fixed to the plastic underframe. Examining the Santa Fe example, the underframe, end railings, ladders, smoke stack, running boards, brakewheels, trucks and couplers are all cast in a metal-black-gray plastic. A brown cast wood plank underframe is present and detail on the under side of all the Atlas O models was and is impressive. Our Santa Fe Caboose appears to be cast in red plastic with black being the only paint application made to the model on the cupola and caboose body roof. The lettering is typical 1970s pad printing and includes some fuzziness. The Santa Fe model includes two color, yellow and white, pad printing. Lettering is applied only on the sides, the cupola and ends have no lettering. If one wants to get picky, Santa Fe's Class CE-3, which this model claims to be on its flanks, were not wide-vide design cabooses. And the CE-3 caboose series was 999600-999636, so the Atlas number of 999246 misses being in the Class CE-3 group of prototypes anyway.

Roco was a prolific model maker. Besides creations for Atlas, Roco also produced for other U.S. companies. Illustrated is Atlas' O-scale Wide-Vision towering over an HO-scale (1:87th) example decorated for Chessie System. The Chessie model was imported by AHM in the 1970s and also built by Roco in Austria. Inspection and comparison of the tooling for both models indicates Roco used the same plans and general design to create both models.