Thanks Chuck! That's good stuff.
I just wondered why most transfer cabs looked like a flat car with a dog kennele perched on it. They don't make much of an advert for the RR... which I would have thought wasn't good "sales" as they must have been seen around town quite a lot...?
Thanks
Over-the-road cabooses were equipped for the long haul, with a variety of spare parts for emergency repairs and such amenities as long padded seats that could be converted to bunks, stoves with cook tops and ice boxes/refrigerators. In earlier times, an over-the-road caboose also served as the crew's home away from home, a suitable substitute for a rooming house when laying over at the far end of the division.
OTOH, transfer cabooses were only used for short-distance moves and served as little more than shelters to keep the paperwork out of the rain. As the name implies, transfer cabooses were used when cuts of cars were being moved between yards in close proximity to one another, whether owned by a single railroad (main yard to a satellite yard serving an industrial district, for example) or by different railroads (interchange.) 'Amenities' were often limited to a stove and a couple of hard benches. Also (usually) lacking were convenient ways to observe the train - cupolas and/or bay windows.
Hope this helps.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with brake vans)
Why are transfer cabooses so different from ordinary cabooses?
TIA