weren’t strengthened structurely and moved to a permanent spot right behind the steam engines tender? I’m assuming that they were a pain in the rear to uncouple, do the work at hand, recouple and move on. Why not just move it behind the tender to prevent the uncoupling all the time?
Am I missing something?
Jarrell
Before the days of reliable radio communication and EOTs, someone had to make sure the hind end of the train was still the hind end of the train, protect the hind in case of emergency, and be able to preform a visal inspection of a moving train from the hind end. Cabooses also carried the trains rear markers, so other trains would know the hind end had passed. It was also nice to have someone back there incase something went wrong, so someone could walk for the head and hind end and meet in the middle.
Nick
Yes.
Real trains are long. Very long. The conductor rode the caboose, where he had a good workspace for all the paperwork he did. The rear-end brakeman rode the caboose so he could watch the cars ahead of him for problems like hot journal boxes and so he could work the back part of the train when necessary. Both could watch for other trains coming behind them and leave appropriate signals as needed, especially when the train was stopped for a problem or for switching chores.
If everyone was at the front of the train, who would watch the end of the train often a mile back? The brakemen would have to walk all that distance to do uncoupling. It would take forever and tie up the tracks in the process.
Early cabooses (cabeese?) were wood with weak undercarriages. Pusher locomotives had to be coupled onto the train ahead of the caboose. Later cabooses were steel framed and pushers could just couple on behind the caboose. The pusher could also be cut loose on the fly so the train didn’t have to stop, drop the caboose, cut out the pusher and back up to pickup the caboose.
No caboose now-a-days. Don’t need 'em. Conductor rides the loco, FRED’s identify the last car and hot-box detectors along the right of way watch for trouble as the train passes by.
Not as much fun waving to a FRED as it was waving to the conductor!
Darrell, quiet…for now
I like cabooses. IN fact, my wife hits me in the arm more often for watching cabooses than for any other reason.
What? On trains?
Uh, Nevermind.
Also had to watch air.
I seen it in a movie, the guy in the caboose would watch for John Wayne and his gang to chase the train to rob it
with the advent of FRED’s , EOTD’s and hotbox detector’s the caboose became part of railroad history…the brakeman and conductor used to watch the air pressure and if needed could apply the brakes from the rear of the train, they also could visually inspect the train from the rear and watch signals…those days are over now and so are the days of big train crews…chuck
And now when there IS a problem, the poor trainman has to walk a mile or more to check the entire train, vs. half that when there was someone coming up from the back at the same time a head-end guy was walking back.
But apparantly the increased labor and delay costs do not match that of maintaining and operating the caboose.
–Randy
Having walked the mile to the hind end and the mile back to the engine, I can tell you it’s not fun. However, also having ridden on a shove car for 2 miles, I can say riding the hind end for the entire trip is less fun. Slack runs in. Slack run out. Spill your coffee (and yourself) all about. The ride on the head end is much smoother. And if sometime tramatic happens, the Line of Road Trainmaster comes out to lend a hand.
Nick
Well, it all makes perfect sense. And Mouse, we all like to watch cabooses … 
Randy, that was going to be my next question but you got it.
Nick, what is the Line of Road Trainmaster and what is his job?
Jarrell
My enjoyment of those cabooses has gotten me in trouble numerous times over the years. Fortunately there’s a very nice caboose here at home! Let’s see I have the Intermountain ATSF CA-1, a couple of Trix UP …not buying it are you?
When I first began to notice trains in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, the most facsinating part of the train for me was the caboose. My favorite time to watch trains was in the fall. I can remeber when the train station in Dover, Delaware was so busy with passenger trains arriving and departing. In fact just south of the station is a nice classification yard. I use to love watching the train yard fill with cabosses and other freight cars, and the maneuvering that had to be done to get ready for the next run.
In Jackson, Tennessee one could visit the GM&O yard, the Islen (Izlen), and watch the big turn table rotate engines, either going in or going out, pushing cabooses and placing them at the end of the train, watch the crew board; and as the train crossed over Royal Street or Main Street you got the toots of the horn or whistle and the wave from the conductor who had the greatest job in the world.
By the way some trains have brought back the caboose. Believe it or not you can stand on Highway 278, which runs through Fairfax, SC. And right there is where the North and South tracks cross the East and West tracks. It is a major diamond crossing on the East Coast for CSX. You will see an occaisional caboose on the North and South runs.
While they may not wave like they use too, it sure brings back memories of days gone by when, as the sun was setting, the Whipperwill whistle of Casey Jones and his fireman Sim Jones would shrill across the land and pass you by right on time and the trusted caboose with its running lights swaying in the evening light would be the last of that train, and you would wonder, “Where is that train going, and boy would I like to be on it.”
The Train Master’s Office
Hub City Railroad
Some railroads did carry the caboose at the front end–it was common practice on electric freight lines, partially because the trains were generally shorter. Also, for electric lines it was often a carry-over from box motor freight practice–box motors had lots of room, so often the conductor and brakemen would ride in there with the motorman.
robert sylvester: Casey Jones’ fireman was named Sim Webb.
What does the Line of Road Trainmaster do? He gets in the way.[(-D]
The LoR Trainmaster is responsible for a section of mainline. If something happens (derailment, train in emergency, unusual delays, etc) he responds. He will also deal with any customer issues in his territory. Normally, the LoR Trainmaster works in conjuction with a Road Foreman of Engines. Around my area, they are assigned to territories, outside of large terminal areas, with small yards and large or numerous customers.
Nick
And in the days that brakeman actually set the brakes, having one of the brakeman start from the rear made some sense as well, moving forward applying brakes on individual cars, while the front end brakeman worked his way back doing the same until the train was brought to a stop.
Will
Another reason for the caboose was to check behind for gouges in the ties indicating a derailed car ahead. Most later cabooses had a spotlight at the rear for this reason. If you saw drag marks you’d radio the head end and ask if they had fresh drag marks ahead of the engine. A negative answer was generally followed w/ “Oh rats!”.
(or a more vigorous expletive)
Another reason for the caboose was to check behind for gouges in the ties indicating a derailed car ahead. Most later cabooses had a spotlight at the rear for this reason. If you saw drag marks you’d radio the head end and ask if they had fresh drag marks ahead of the engine. A negative answer was generally followed w/ “Oh rats!”.
(or a more vigorous expletive)
[#dots] I was hoping someone would bring that up.
I have pictures of the NP running a caboose right behind the tender. Unfortunately it doesn’t show if one is at the rear as well but I would guess that there was.
I remember as a child seeing Santa Fe trains with two cabooses at the end. The explaination I got at the time was that it meant the train had more than 100 cars. Some sort of Union deal, so any one crew didn’t have too much work. At that time each crew was apparently assigned a caboose. They exchanged the caboose when they changed crews. Two points I got to see them do this were La Junta Colorado, and Dodge City KS. I guess that also explains the extraordinary number of caboose the AT&SF had sitting around all the time.
That is true, crews used to have assigned cabooses. They were changed everytime the crews changed. Many crews would stay in the caboose at the away terminal. Cabooses therefore had individual touches. Pool cabooses did away with this, but I’m not sure when caboose pooling started.
Nick
Don’t feel bad, Chip. My WIFE likes to watch cabooses too!!