Now that several years have passed by since “cabeese” were largely removed from the ends of trains and have been replaced by “FREDs” or flashing rear-end devices, has there been any research done or statistics taken about whether overall train safety since the conversion, relative to expense or cost has increased, gone down, or stayed the same? On the same topic, are there any areas around the country where you can see cabeese regularly, on the ends of trains? (Some places in CA come to my mind, but I’m not sure). Are there any railroads that regularly use them? Have any Class I’s categorically discouraged the use of cabeese?
The FRA might have the information you want concerning safety rates. My suspicion is that the safety rate (read as the injury rate) has probably gone down, not because of FRED, but because the caboose could be a dangerous place to be, especially with slack run out on start up.
I have heard of cabooses being used on short lines. The MOW forces for NS here in Columbus, Georgia had a caboose in the yard for a while- a bay windowed thing. It disappeared about two years ago. I have also seen a CSX caboose running with a locomotive, but no train. I have been told by some pro railroaders that occasionally a caboose is used as a shelter if a long freight is expected to make very long backing moves.
I have not heard of any railroads discouraging caboose use, but there don’t seem to be a lot of them around to use. If there are extra train people aboard, and the jump seats in the cab are filled up, most trainmen go into the next unit in the consist to ride.
I have seen in other discussions on this forum that Montana Rail Link still uses caboses…and I saw the same one twice today, once on the end of hte train as it left Missoula, and the second time as it preceeded the entire train back into town. I am guessing that a brakeman rides in the caboose and talks to the Engineer by radio while the train backs down the line…
I suspect that any truthful statistics about costs realted to the caboose coming off are hard to come by. Beyond the obvious costs and safety issues associated with the caboose, there are costs I am sure the railroads never anticipated when taking the cabooser off.
Here a but a few examples:
Delays while crews wait for a taxi to make a shove move so the rear end can be protected.
Train delays account no markers or batteries for the marker.
Cost of lost, stolen and damaged markers.
Per diem charges for markers from other than your railroad.
Saxman
P.S. No I do not want cabooses back! I would not want to be in one at the end of a 9,000 foot train.
I’m not aware of any “offical” studies on cabooses vs. EOTs.
Cabooses and thier attendent crews were expensive to operate. EOTs by comparison are cheap, although they do need replaced every 5 years or so, becuase of the abuse they suffer. The lastest generation of air driven markers, have no batteries to replace. Per Diem charges are almost negligable. Although, we do try to move foreign EOTs off line as fast as possible, or ship them back to the owner.
Riding the hind end is not a pleasent experiance. With placement of the entire crew on the head end, there are less injuries due to slack action. In normal operations, the lack of a person on the hind end has no effect. When something goes wrong, it is a problem. And you hope there is a train behind you or a Trainmaster close by to help out.
The only place you will see cabooses on a Class I are places where long shoving movements are required. CSX uses them regularly in coal country, when shoving up to the tipples.
Here on CSX we have 3 cabooses (all ex-Chessie) based out of Wyoming yard. The crews use them on locals and the RC yard jobs as platforms. There’s also another based out of nearby Ensel yard, which is used on their local as well. I guess I’m a bit spoiled, I see cabooses all the time!
Canadian Pacific regularly uses shoving platforms (old SOO W/V models) on several area trains, all of which involve a considerable amount of bcakup moves. The Waxdale job (“Sturtevant Patrol”) backs down the spur to Waxdale, the Lake Job backs out of Burnham Yard to the line to Jones Island, and the Canal Job backs up all over the place!
Union Pacific also uses ex-CNW BW shoving platforms on its Marsh Job (also to Jones Island), as they operate in reverse back to Mitchell Yard (pictures – 1 –– 2 –– 3 –), and I believe the Cudahy job does as well.
While I can say I miss seeing the “counterbalance” to the locomotives at the end of the train – and even today’s “shoving platforms” are usually in pretty bad shape compared to their glory days – I’m sure it saves the railroads considerable amounts of money not having to pay a crewman to sit in the “back office”, not to mention related injury claims etc. Especially considering that today’s train crews aren’t particularly overworked (from my point of view, anyways).
Also, another railroad that still uses cabooses is the Union Railroad around Pittsburgh. From the info I heard, they still use a caboose on almost every train because of the high number of backup moves their trains have to do. http://cnw8835.rrpicturearchives.net/rsList.aspx?id=URR&cid=1
As a earlier post stated, cabooses are now known as shove cars for the main purpose of not paying HO claims when riding the side of a car for one mile on a reverse move. I have only been on the rr since 1998, long after the caboose era ended. Shove cars/cabooses are good only on work trains where long reverse moves are a norm. The problem with the little red car on the end was that it was very common for rear end crews to drink, do drugs, sleep or bring ladies of the night on board. Old heads have also told me that, based on fact, after the cabooses were taken off, substance abuse on the rr dropped a large degree. I had a uncle who was a brkmn/condr on the Frisco @ Wichita,KS from 1935-1970. He spent most of his trips riding on the caboose. Asked once when i was very young on just what he did back there and between job duties it was drinking beer or playing cards and even catching a few zzzzsss. Quite different from current time railroading.
Like a lot of things, in retrospect, the legend grows, even though the facts are different. Just because you’ve been told these stories, you’ve taken the ball and ran with it, as one who was railroading then (and now), although some things went on that wouldn’t be tried today (ladies of the night, indeed!), you make it sound like it was the norm every trip, an insult to all the alert and hard working railroaders who preceded me.
While FRED’s are much cheaper than the expense associated with maitaining cabooses…the amount of time a train is delayed by mechanical trouble on line of road is increased exponentially.
With a manned caboose, train inspections took place from both ends at the same time…one man would inspect from the head and and another from the rear. Today’s 9000+ foor trains are all inspected from the head end…one man inspecting 18000 + plus feet of train. When the train announces it is in emergency…figure the train will be stopped 2 to 3 hours…if the mechanical malfunctiuon is not severe.
“The only place you will see cabooses on a Class I are places where long shoving movements are required. CSX uses them regularly in coal country, when shoving up to the tipples.”
Thursday about noon, while on I-35 gong south in the Olathe,KS. area, paralleling the BNSF mainline, I watched a BlueBonnet BNSF #1277 pulling a dry bulk hopper car. and a caboose, while pushing[shoving] another caboose which was displaying a single headlight. First time in ages to see a caboose being used at all. Must have been a very special move?
Riprap: Didn’t see any answer for you re: “What is a tipple”…A tipple is a structure at a mine {coal}, and coal is brought to the tipple from the source and typically a railroad mine spur is built into the mine and under the tipple where coal is loaded via gravity feed down into the hoppers to load the train.
All that is very true.I’ve worked with and without cabooses,and I’ve experienced delays with a FRED that were halved or better when I had a caboose on the rear.Initial air tests were easier also,and quicker,for the same reason. Dumping air from the rear,mandatory in mountain country,was available from the caboose before two-way FRED was developed.
Train handling was also simplified IMHO,because the engineer had to only be concerned with getting the train started,and not worry about what he was doing to affect the ride quality of the rear end crew.It is an art to handle a heavy freight with a caboose on the tail as compared to what engineers have to do now.A compliment on a smooth ride was as good an atta boy you could get from a conductor.
Do I miss cabooses? In many ways,yes. Did the unions help the demise of the caboose? I think they did. Is railroading truly safer without them? In my opinion,I don’t think so. An alert rear end crew could spot derailed cars,broken rails,crossing malfunctions, provide rear end protection…all things current technology can provide,but not as timely as an alert rear end crew. They aren’t coming back,but I still beleive they have a place in the industry.