Just curious about this topic.  I live in NW Louisiana where it is flat compared to Colorado so there is not much to compare to. I know that railroads tried to avoid grades as much as possible. My question is when the route was in a continuous steady grade and a bridge was required was the bridge set to meet the same grade or was it set level to cross the terrain? I have read some opinions that prototype bridges were set level because heavy braking on a downhill grade on a bridge would cause damage to the bridge structure and foundation.  Is there any truth to this?

I figured that it might be a good idea to start a thread based on a question that Rich Branch asked in another thread.

I do have one request:  as a guy who is modeling the 70's can we stop calling that the modern era?  I think it's weird that something representing an industry as it existed 35 years ago would be considered "modern".

FWIW:

http://bridgehunter.com/mo/st-charles/bh39088/

I know what the lettering in the picture says.  I want to know if anybody knows where the car came from.  Does it look like any other caboose you know of?  I've heard people say it was a Virginian caboose, but the windows are not quite right, and they don't line up relative to the cupola in the same way.