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[Mark300]

QUOTE: Originally posted by JoeKrause

I was asked in a general audience the other day about when Class I railroads stopped using cabooses at the end of freight trains. I guesses somewhere the in l970's and speculated that there were two reasons why:
(a). cutting down of train crews
(b). new technological devices placed on the last car of a freight train to indicate the end of the train.

I would appreciate any more knowledgable person letting me know the answers to my question.[:)]

The Staggers Act of 1980 - here's a link to another thread on your question.

http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?page=-1&TOPIC_ID=34162&REPLY_ID=344213#344213

Hope this helps,

Happy Railroading,

Mark

[wjstix]

Slightly off topic, but although the safety concerns noted are correct, I think the key reason cupola cabooses were replaced by bay window or extended vision cabooses is that freight cars just got too high !! At the time most wood cabooses were built, they had an 8' body height, just like the boxcars ahead of them, so the cupola allowed a clear view of the train. Once 10' cars started to come in in the 30's, your view was blocked. The best alternative was to have the caboose have bay windows (or an extra-wide 'extended vision' cupola) to allow you to see along the side of the cars, since the freight cars were all still the same width.