Have not seen one of these in ages. Was at end of short UP consist of about 10 cars in Pine Bluff AR. It had an end of train light (lit but not blinking). I am guessing it was a local that was returning to the yard with some cars it had picked up in local area. I did not know they still used these. May have provided an end of train car that allowed them to pick up cars by stuffing them in the middle without chainging the end light.
Paul D
N scale Washita and Santa Fe RailroadSouthern Oklahoma circa late 70's
Paul, it sounds like what you saw was a switch job traveling hind end first. From your description, one of those "minimalist" cabooses of the 1980s/1990s was used as a "shoving platform" on a job where all the tracks to be worked were trailing point going away from town, and quite possibly no run-around existed. The EOTD was left on the caboose because on the return leg of the run, the engine now occupied the position of the caboose. With the rear-most headlight on dim, the EOTD was not necessary and was simply left on the caboose, now the lead car.
The minimalist cabooses came about due to the fact that labor agreements of the era had crews take their rest in contract motels at their away terminals, instead of a hot, non-air conditioned caboose in a noisy freight yard. Relieved of the need to provide bunk space, the carbody could be greatly reduced in size as well as weight, resulting in fuel saved. I believe Mopac started the reduced size cabooses and UP quickly joined the parade. The introduction of the EOTD paved the way for the elimination of the caboose before the craze could spread to all U.S. railroads.
Since there was no picture, I thought he might be talking about the kind the railroaders called a "Privy on a Flatcar.
Deano
P.S. Yes, that IS what he was asking about. It was called a "transfer caboose," popular in the late '40s through...? Railroaders did call them "privies on flatcars," and some were just a shelter with seats and a stove, added to a flatcar, often with steam loco type tender steps added. The Milwaukee Road's, however, were actually constructed on the frames of the recently retired steam loco tenders, and of good, modern, solid cabins fabricated in the West Milwaukee Shops. My late brother, a switchman in the Muskego Yard, rode in them during way switching jobs. He told of a foreman, showing a new-hire around the yard, coming across an EMD 1000 or 1200hp "cow and calf," coupled to one. Taking his handy chalk, he lettered "COW" on the cab unit, "CALF," on the booster unit--and "SHEEP" on the transfer caboose!
Deano, that's exactly what I visualized but, when he identified it as a UP consist I knew it wasn't your typical outhouse on a raft carrying the EOTD.
OT Dean Since there was no picture, I thought he might be talking about the kind the railroaders called a "Privy on a Flatcar. Deano
No picture? I included a picture and it shows up when I look at this post.
This short consist has two loco's leading and the flatcar caboose was in the rear.
PEDNo picture? I included a picture and it shows up when I look at this post.
If I click the little photo icon I get a link to sign up for a Gmail account!
I have a Bluford Shops transfer caboose. Some railroads even had ones more sparse than this.
Cut the caboose by Edmund, on Flickr
https://frisco.org/mainline/2015/01/12/transfer-caboose-1329/
Cheers, Ed
In firefox I can't see the picture icon which is a broken picture icon, visible in Chrome. As I am normally signed into google (gmail) I see
GONE error 410.
Links to google photos work only rarely in this forum. The link, the html address, you copy has to end in a picture format, like bmp, jpg, png
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
OK. Lets try again. I edited the original posting to (hopefully) delete the original image link and insert a valid one.
Works for me. Now.
Ed
NHTX I believe Mopac started the reduced size cabooses...
I believe Mopac started the reduced size cabooses...
MP 13665-13714 built 1976
...and UP quickly joined the parade.
Quickly. I s'pose, for a railroad. UP DID borrow one for testing. And in 1979, the CA-11's were delivered. The body is significantly longer than the MP cars. Whether that's for bunks or just a spacious view, I can't find out for sure.
It was noted that the CA-11's cost $60,000 instead of $72,000 for a cupola caboose. A cupola was getting kind of useless, since cars tended to be WAY taller than the caboose. And working about the car was faster and safer.
The MP built two sizes of modern bay window caboose bodies. A longer one and a shorter transfer caboose one.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
dehusman The MP built two sizes of modern bay window caboose bodies. A longer one and a shorter transfer caboose one.
I did not know they built two sizes. The number series I noted (by mistake) was one of the longer ones. I doubt that borrowing one of those would have got them thinking of using a shorter body.
But I do see that the series 13715-13814 IS one of the shorties. And they were built starting 1977. So I'll revise my statement and assume they got one of those for their look-see.
Morning Sun's "Missouri Pacific Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment" lists the following as far as late construction cabooses:
12509-12514 standard length bay window
13000-13099 short bay window, blt. 1981/2, last MP cabooses blt.
13665-13714 standard length bay window, blt. 1976
13715-13814 short bay window, blt. 1977/8
13815-13965 short bay window blt. 1980
Anyone know status of this caboose 13929? I think I have seen similar (same?) caboose at the local Cotton Belt train museum here in Pine Bluff AR.
The pic is for sure a transfer caboose, used when moving a train of cars a short distance, like transferring a cut of cars from your yard to another railroad's yard a few miles away. A full caboose with bunks, icebox, etc. wouldn't be needed, it was just the minimum to get the crew out of the rain and to heat them up a little if it was cold.
The caboose in the picture is indeed a road caboose. The only thing you mentioned it is no longer required to have is the bunks,because crews no longer lived in a caboose at their away terminals. Agreements negotiated in the 1970s had crews away from home lodged in contract motels instead of trying to sleep in a hot, non-air conditioned steel box, in a busy and noisy freight yard. Without the need to provide bunk space, railroads saw the opportunity to reduce the weight of a car that produced no revenue yet, must be hauled on every train out on the road. Elimination of the bunk space allowed shortening of the carbody and a significant weight reduction. This is why UP was so quick to adopt the design as their CA-11. They definitely had no need of a couple of hundred new transfer cabooses.
An article by Jim Hediger on the UP CA-11, including HO scale drawings appeared in the April 1981 MR.
These so called "transfer cabooses" could be used on urban locals,mine runs,road locals and general freights if needed.
However,where I worked Chessie(C&O) kept full size cabooses for road freight service including mine runs and road locals.
I did get the joy of riding in one of these "toaster ovens" while working on PC (ex NYC caboose ) and found them to be very uncomfortable and rough riding..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
The lodging agreements for trainmen go back to, at least, 1964. However, they may not have been in place everywhere at first. Even on the same property, they may have been implemented over time. Where they were in effect, the railroad then could start pooling cabooses instead of assigning them to specific crews. They would no longer have to switch out and change cabooses at intermediate crew changes on a train's journey. Engine and train crews could then change out without the train even stopping in some places.
Jeff
jeffhergertThe lodging agreements for trainmen go back to, at least, 1964. However, they may not have been in place everywhere at first.
A lot of terminals had Railroad YMCAs that started showing up around the late 1800/early 1900s and was located near the yard. These early RRYMCAs featured a wash room that had wash sinks around the walls,resturant,sleeping rooms, recreation and reading area.
The "old" Collinwood YMCA:
Collinwood_YMCA by Edmund, on Flickr
2016_slides_0046 (2016_08_17 08_08_12 UTC) by Edmund, on Flickr
It was replaced by this one in 1970 and the big, wooden building "mysteriously" burned down one night shortly after the new one opened.
2016_slides_0045 (2016_08_17 08_08_12 UTC) by Edmund, on Flickr
I can not see the original photo because my virus software blocks the u.cubeupload site as being malware/spyware.
Cheers! Ed
The STRATTON & GILLETTE also has a transfer caboose on the roster. I love this model. It is a brass model of a KCS prototype that was imported by Lambert.
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Thank you for all the information on how these cars were used in service. This sure does not look like a comfortable place to ride.
-Kevin
Living the dream.