Caboose or waycar?

[sailor38]

Okay..... what's the difference?[?]

[espeefoamer]

It depends on the railroad. Most roads called them cabooses, Santa Fe called them waycars,Pennsylvania Railroad called them cabin cars.Other roads may have used different names.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes they are called "vans" in Canada, never heard the reason why. I prefer caboose myself, or the plural cabeese! [:D]

Bob Boudreau

[tatans]

I used to hear the term "crummy" for a caboose, never heard "van" I would assume that all the different railways referred to cabooses with very individual names, along with hundreds of other terms.

[Anonymous]

The CB&Q also called them waycars (short for way-freight car, which is essentially what a caboose is), others nicknames for cabooses included crummies and hacks.

[Anonymous]

Why are they called waycars. For, there cars way in the back.

[johncolley]

Vans comes from England, as did Canada.

[ericsp]

They also have the nickname of hacks.

You might try posting on this on the Trains forum.