Is it correct that the smoke or vent stack sticking up out of the roof of a caboose should be furthest to the back, especially if the cab is at one end instead of a center cab caboose? Meaning the cab end is the front of the caboose and is always closest to the locomotive even though the caboose is the very end of the train?
No. They are any way they end up on the train.
No, not really. It might have been some conductor’s preference. However, I doubt much time was wasted getting cabooses pointed the “right” way.
The smoke jack was not placed in any particular location to suit the conductor or anyone else – it was at whichever end the caboose was pointed when connected to the train.
The smoke jack is located directly above the coal stove, so it depends on the interior design of the particular caboose. If the stove is all the way at one end of the caboose, the other end of the caboose might be pretty cold in the winter. Sometimes the stove is near an end, sometimes it is near the cupola. If you don’t have interior detail on your model caboose, there are still a few things to watch out for… I have seen a model caboose with the smoke vent positioned as if the stove was located right in front of the sliding side door - and that wouldn’t work.
Cabooses are almost never turned, they just are put on the train either way they are pointed. There is no “front” or "back’ for a caboose. Normally under the cupola are lockers or storage bins, with the rest of the caboose an open “room”. The stove/heater will be placed in that area to heat as much of the caboose as evenly as possilbe.