Just wondering about something.
Is there a chance of cabooses making a comeback with an ETU at the end of it?
I say this because wouldn’t a manned caboose and ETU be able to complement each other? The ETU could “watch” for mechancial problems while the conductor in the caboose could watch for things that the ETU couldn’t pick up.
Just how economical is it for the railways to have just an ETU at the end of every train?
What’s an ETU?
ETU. End of Train Unit. Sometimes known as FRED. Frieght Train Rear End Device. The gadget at the end of most frieght trains.
Cabooses have been pretty much downgraded to “shoving platforms”, a place for the brakeman or conductor to stand on long back-up moves. Putting the conductor back in the caboose also would re-introduce a safety problem, there’s an excellent chance of getting hurt every time the slack runs in or out. I also don’t think that there’s too much in the way of data or events from the rear of the train that isn’t picked up by a sophisticated EOT device.
Actually the names used to describe the device you are speaking of are either E.O.T. (END OF TRAIN) device, or F.R.E.D. (FLASHING REAR END DEVICE).
anyone who has dropped one on their safety shoed foot has many other names for them!
dd
The most sophisticated End-of-Train devices (E.O.T.s) perform several functions such as
Older E.O.T.s use clip-on battery packs to supply electric power. Newer units do a “mini-bleed” of brake pipe pressure by directing it through an air turbine that’s coupled to a small electric generator. The generator supplies the juice needed to power both the E.O.T.'s functions and to keep its internal back-up battery charged.
Quite simply, Doc, this is never going to happen, the company eliminated a lot of expense by eliminating cabooses, handling them, getting them on the trains, the maintenance of them, and elimination of the possibility of employees getting hurt by slack action or other hazards of riding the rear end. And, you really can’t see much from a coupola behind a high cube boxcar or a auto rack, nor a cloud of coal dust.
I could only imagine…
When the name FRED was coined, the “F” had nothing to do with Flashing…
LC
The post by Valley X was corect to every point. A few other things to consider on the case against the caboose: these cars were indeed expensive to operate and did not generate any revenue for the carriers. There was no return on investment. Most engineers that started in the craft within the last 20 yrs have never operated a train w/a manned caboose. The hogheads in the caboose era were more skilled at train handling just for the fact that they had fellow workers riding on the rear of the train. From a train watching viewpoint, yes the caboose was nice to see pass by when the train cleared but from a working viewpoint, it simply became a part of rr history that no longer was needed. Today about the only useful purpose of having one on a job is in work train service. In my poinion, the caboose was the most overated segment of rr history.
Most Shortline railroads know what a F.R.E.D. is and I also know what is it, but if you talk to a BNSF official the only thing on the end of a train is and ETD, or EOT. Both are the same thing, End Of Train Device. A Fred is exactly what has already been stated a Flashing Rear End Device.
[(-D]
Some of these later era hoggers would have a mad conductor looking for him when they got in. Good response, SF, but sometimes, it would be handy and faster if someone were on the rear end. I don’t know about overrated, like everything else, they had their time.