I always found it curious that Indiana permitted the 70+ car trains to operate the last mile from the Vincennes depot to the Wabash River without the required Head End brakeman! Can’t have someone walk back to the depot now, can we?
The Indiana full crew law was changed in 1972 but there were still plenty of trains operated with six man crews after that because anyone who hired prior to (IIRC) sometime in July, 1972, was considered protected.
Cabooses came off in most places circa 1984, it’s true that Virginia had a caboose law after that, not quite sure how long after 1984 that was done away with.
Had today’s engineers started out handling cabooses, they would be ok but if they suddenly had to handle trains with cabooses after not having to do so, there would, I fear, be injuries aplenty.