I have a question about todays surving operational cabooses… Do they still have their ladders and roof walks or were they yanked too in the late 70’s?
Would some still have them on small lines?
Thanks much
every caboose i see has no ladders and are welded shut to keep people out and off, they are just shoving platforms, so one doesnt have to ride a car. As far as some that still do, I would say that only museums would have ones still equipped with ladders and roof walks
It would probably be hard to find a caboose with roofwalks etc. after the early seventies. Roofwalks were mandated by the govt. to be removed in 1964-65 from all cars, there were some waivers that allowed a few cars to go into the seventies, but don’t think you’ll find anything in common usage after that.
Thanks guys for the quick response. I did a search on Railpictures.net and sure enough, they were all gone. I was putting together a model and wasnt sure about it… I left them off.
Like the old saying goes, there is an exception to the rule. Some railroads still have operational cabooses. These are used for work trains, special movements ,etc.
One can see a good example in Chad’s latest Cajon pictures, with a boarded-up BN caboose with no ladders ot catwalks at the end of a BNSF work train. (Dial-up users should be very patient or avoid the thread, as it took quite a while to load even with broadband internet.)
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=64974
Strange to see a caboose with a FRED hanging on its coupler. Chad got the shove move with a crewman on the platform. I guess that beats hanging on a grab iron and step for a few miles.
John, here are some caboose pix for ya.
While I’m sure it’s an exception, here’s a caboose that I shot a couple of months ago down here in Mexico. It still has its ladders and roofwalk in place (and is still lettered for NdeM which hasn’t existed for a number of years). While most of the trains here use FREDs, this caboose was on a short train of cement hoppers from a local plant. I don’t know why the caboose was being used on that particular run.
Regards
Ed
Around here, both CSX and NS still use cabooses on a daily basis. Just this morning I saw a former Conrail transfer caboose sitting in the NS yard with smoke coming out of the chimney pipe so the crew must have had some sort of a heater going inside. CSX uses cabooses around the yard and on several locals. Heres a picture of a crew member riding one while working an RCO job backing into the yard.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=370787
I love cabooses and hate to see them with boarded up or welded over windows. [:(!] [:(] [V] It just isn’t right to do that to a caboose. [B)] [8]
The NS cabooses I see around don’t have ladders that I can remember.I’ve got some pictures I’ll try and post later and we’ll be able to see the detail better.Some of the NS cabooses in Williamson have solar panels for the lights inside and the flasher outside…And they do maintain the heaters for the winter months.Some have a fog type light mounted on the end for better night time safety.I saw one on the rear of a shifter this morning when I was leaving Williamson.It had the required e.o.t.d. on it because of the caboose being on the rear of the movement and not the head of the shove.[:D]
I just checked my supply of photos of UP CA-11’s, taken in the late 90’s, and they don’t have ladders or roofwalks. These are units that are still in service, since there’s a local that still uses them.
IF THE RAILROADS WHERE SMART. THEY WOULD BRING BACK THE MAIN LINE CABOOSES AND INSTALL THEIR LITTLE FLASHY TOY LIGHT JUTE BOX EOTD’S AND PUT IT ON THE CABOOSE COUPLER. BUT THE RAILROADS COULD CARE LESS…
Wow. Thanks guys for all the info and for taking the time to dig up pictures… The pictures are great by the way.
I am modeling a caboose to use for modern setting on my railroad here at home and went to put the stuff on, and for the life of me, couldnt picture what a caboose would have. Not alot of them running around here in Phoenix. Again, thanks everyone
UP still has a bunch of ratty old CNW bay window cabooses like CNW 11186:
http://www.fuzzyworld3.com/pictures3/railroad/up05/nb.html
They painted one up in sorta-UP colors that runs in Janesville and looks puke-awful. I have a picture, but haven’t posted it anywhere yet.
That’s not being smart. If you put the cabooses back, who would want to pay a 3rd conductor/brakeman to sit in one?
Hope this shows up.It was taken in Williamson,WVa about a month ago.And look it has the ladders on the end.
WOW… Well what ya know… A Common phrase among modeler’s is the famous “prototype for everything.”
So, question then, what;s the story on this caboose? How come it got away with it? I was under the impression, that was a major no-no. Just fall though the cracks? Work for a small line or maybe a museum or tourist caboose?
speaking of cabooses… i caught this one the other day on the 290 in chicago. i though these we all rotting in franklin park.
