I saw a caboose today, at the end of train. Really!
No, Mook, I wasn’t driving a forklift under the influence either.
It was an ATSF red caboose headed north out of the port behind one boxcar, three tank cars and one BNSF pumpkinized GP, couldn’t say what type from the distance.
I don’t think I have seen a caboose in service that wasn’t attached to a military or MOW train in years.
A Mookie Mobile?
In the national agreement any conductor who has to ride a shove over a mile with out a caboose will get paid a penalty of not less than one basic day at class of service they are performing.
they bring the caboose along when switching locally here in defiance.
stay safe
Joe
Iowa Interstate trains into Chicago carry a caboose for that reason. Because of track arrangements, the freights come off the former RI main onto the IHB and then must be shoved into IHB’s Blue Island yard.
We see caboose use here in Milwaukee on the CP for the “Island Job” and sometimes the “Lake Job” (local switching moves that often involve extended backup moves). The cabooses in question are Soo Line. I believe the UP also uses a CNW caboose for its similar Jones Island switch job.
Dave Nelson
The last time I saw a caboose running was a military train with a bunch of Bradleys and HUMVEEs on 86’ TTX, SP, and DODX flats. That was several years ago. I presume that it was there to house a security detail more than end of train protection. I have seen then them on work trains frequently, and I would again presume to be more of a mobile office than EOT. Just strcuk me as odd. I mean it’s been years since I’ve seen one in revenue service.
Dan
The CSX had a caboose for the local based at Lyons NY the last time I was up there this summer. They are becoming very rare. I can remember when I saw a caboose in service here in the Southern Tier of NY.
And peaple use to think I was crazy to wait for the whole train to pass so I could photograph the caboose. Now they are gone.
BNSF runs a local through Omaha. It always has a caboose though I have not been seeing the local as often as before.
I have seen some NS and CSX cabooses around Fayetteville, N.C. on some locals on various occasions over the years. Not to often but sometimes.
The last time I saw a caboose on a regular freight was a couple of years ago on a CP freight at Swift Current, Saskatchewan.
I’ve always been a big caboose fan. I was about 4 or 5 when they started getting rid of cabooses. CP goes through my town and thankfully CP didn’t stop using them until after CN. My parents tell me that when I was little that we were driving and I saw a CN freight and got really upset because there was no caboose. My parents had to tell me that there was a siding with a caboose on it behind some trees that they were going to pick up. Near the end it was fairly common to see trains go through town with 3 or more (I think the most was 6) cabooses on them.
Why so many?
Adrianspeeder
I think that since they were soon going to be quitting using cabooses that a lot of them were being transported elsewhere and weren’t actually being used.
Hi Willy2.the BNSF uses cabooses on the Omaha to CB transfer runs.It backs out of Gibson yard,under South Omaha bridge,to Amtrak station,about 3 miles.Then goes foward to CB over the UP bridge.The GT from the bluffs comes over engine first and backs down to Gibson.Same thing as BNSF to go back to the bluffs.Thier caboose is a flat car marked IC with a shed in the middle and side mounted steps to the shed.It is gray in color.
Chemung, the caboose you are refering to is called a transfer caboose. All they basically were were a flat car with railings all the way around steps at the ends and a small shed in the center for shelter in bad weather. Yolo Shortline RR in Woodland CA. has an old MKT transfer caboose sitting in their yard in town.
Hey ,Wabash 1, what exactly does that mean about shoving more than 1 mile without a caboose? I work on a short line road, and shove about 8 miles back to a yard where we interchange with CSX. Are designated shoving platforms required for all roads, or does it vary from road to road?
The BNSF runs a waycar on their “P Junction Express” from P Junction, Iowa to Creston, Iowa very regular. Lots of local switching necesitates use. Most often seen running behind SD-40 all alone. Kids often wonder what it is. Oh the price of progress.[:)]
A little ways north of where Irfogle is talking about in Council Bluffs BNSF usually has one parked in a small yard just north of the diamond w/ IAIS. I believe I have seen it on train going up the Bayard sub (ex-MILW line).
Also the other day I spotted 3 cabooses parked on the industrial spur just north of downtown Omaha, one of which was still in MoPac paint. I believe 1 was a bay window & the other 2 (one of which was the MP) were transfer cabooses.
Saw another one just yesterday on the BNSF Creston Sub, right across the streeet from my new house. I didn’t catch a road name, but it looked just plain red, and no logos on it. I just happened to catch it as I looked up, and by the time I got to the window to try to catch a reporting mark, it was ducking behind the trees.
I saw an old CNW caboose used by the UP for a switching run on the Harvard sub this morning. Absolutely made my day[:D]