I would assume since these are not taken on the road there are different conventions than for “road” cabooses. Anyone have an idea about these or a resource I can investigate?
Thx-
Mike
Mike,
From what I understand,there were no set standards,the railroad and or railroads used,they basically had them to do the job at hand… If you would like to check out different, railroads that used them, Go to Google,Railroad Transfer Caboose, you will find,all kinds of info there and pic’s…
Cheers,
Frank
Transfer cabooses were covered by the same rules(depending on era). Before the 70’s, many times all a caboose had were the reflective ‘paddles’ for markers. Around 1972, Federal regulation were changed to include the use of reflective/contrasting paint on the end of a caboose(lot of yellow showed up), and the use of an electrically lit (and fixed) rear marker lamp. If you are operation in the ‘yard’, there really is no requirement for markers or a caboose. If you are on the ‘main’, you must have markers - A ‘train’ is defined as a minimum of a powered rail vehicle with markers(even just a locomotive qualifies if it can display markers to the rear).
Jim
Bad assumption. Transfer cabooses can be on the main track, they just used in a terminal area. For example in a major area like Houston, LA, Chicago, St Louis, you can have a hundred miles of main tracks inside a 25 mile radius.
The marker light rules and conventions would be the same for any train (technically displaying markers is one thing that makes a train a train.) In a pre-1980’s rule book, markers would be covered under Rule 19.
Rule 19 simply specifies how markers are to be displayed. It does not differentiate between passenger, freight, caboose type or even the rear of the pusher loco’s tender.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)