cabooses

[legsbluetrain]

They used to use a UP bay window caboose before the MOP party barge.

[tree68]

Andrew - Obviously money is an issue, but space is the bigger issue - money can be raised/saved/borrowed.

A fellow volunteer on the railroad may have acquired (or had the rights to acquire) a caboose.  Unfortunately, while it's only about 40 miles from where it sits to where it needs to go, and there are rails on both ends, it's about 200 rail miles to make the trip and CSX apparently isn't real amenable to the idea of moving it (assuming it's rail-worthy in the first place). 

She's working on moving it by truck. 

[Awesome!]

If I only had the money and the space, I would buy an actual SOO LINE Caboose.

 

I have seven O Scale Soo Line Cabooses, but a real, full-size one would be great to have.

 

Andrew

Andrew:

Take a look at this website and see how a historical society got a real train.

http://www.thecrhs.org/

Check on the story of the caboose. Enjoy!

[arkansasrailfan]

my grandpa owns the last wooden Louisana & Arkansas caboose. It needs trucks, and new siding, along with a big restoration of it. And no, you can't buy it.

[Andrew Falconer]

If I only had the money and the space, I would buy an actual SOO LINE Caboose.

 

I have seven O Scale Soo Line Cabooses, but a real, full-size one would be great to have.

 

Andrew

[Awesome!]

I just saw a caboose on a local here in Pine Bluff,AR and found out from another railfan the train goes to the Pine Bluff Arsenal and the Arsenal makes UP have a caboose on it for some reason.Anyone has seen any cabooses these days on locals?

If you interested in buying one take a look at the link:

http://www.railmerchants.net/cabooses/index.htm

If you want to check the gallery:

 

http://www.carrtracks.com/caboose.htm

Enjoy!

[SFbrkmn]

J Edgar, I can ubderstand your frustration on union pay matters. You have probably have more experience on this that me and it gets to point to at times it just drains you. I have been lucky , for most part, to  have good solid local chairmen & vice chairmen who will go out of their  way for you. A local is only as good as who is at the top running the show.                   -A large percentage of old head dudes I have talked w/state that they miss the caboose only because of the loss of the brkmn jobs. Most hated riding in the thing and rather would have been up on the head end. My Uncle Don worked nearly 20 yrs as a condr/brkmn for Frisco/BN and just hated having to be back there getting bumped around like crazy. Right about the time the cars came off is when he went to eng service and if he had to do it over again, would stayed on the ground as he would not have to dealt w/riding on the rear.

[tree68]

Old FW&D Sunshine Yard,Wichita Falls Tx. The train working a mfg plant has to run backwards back to Ray Yd..(across town)The caboose is used as a lookout for all the Xings..I really dont see any safety in that beacuse the little whistle sounds like Thomas the Tank ! Ha  

I use a backup whistle on a regular basis.  You're right - it's not much.  My radio is the more important tool, as I'm advising the engineer that the crossing (and track) is clear.  Or not.

We run short trains, so the engineer also sounds the horn for the crossings.

[videomaker]

Old FW&D Sunshine Yard,Wichita Falls Tx. The train working a mfg plant has to run backwards back to Ray Yd..(across town)The caboose is used as a lookout for all the Xings..I really dont see any safety in that beacuse the little whistle sounds like Thomas the Tank ! Ha  

[tree68]

I just saw a picture somewhere of a flat coverted to a shove car.  Couldn't see the whole thing, but I got the impression it didn't have any sort of shelter on it.

[J. Edgar]

........well that raises another sticky point....i have a contract.....contract says"....CP runthru trains subject to custom hold setouts will be paid days pay for setting custom hold cars out of closed yard limits defined as Oak yd CH 12.5...." but....when i setout custom hold cars on DSPR orders at Plymouth Yd CH 25 put in my claim....is declined....resubmit...declined.....submit to Onion rep....sent to arbitration....and 6 to 7 weeks later i get HALF my claim???? so.....just what do my onion dues get me????? whered the other half go???? i know i know like or leave it....go work at micky "d"'s.. off topic and all....but its black and white......same thing with the shove claim..its in the contract!!!..granted thats 1 arbritrary i dont get but the ones i do its a fight for half......

 sorry about the but its like .....and besides...i miss my coupla rides

[SFbrkmn]

As stated above, the term caboose has actually been abolished by the created term of shove car which in many cases the doors and windows are welded shut. The main reason these type cars are used is so the rr won't have to pay a claim for crew members who are required to ride ashove over one mile. This is called a HO code (hanging on). It pays 25 miles which amounts to about $38.00.Get a few of those paid a wk and it starts adding up on the take home pay. Most of time the claims are declined, then foward to the local chairman, then down the road they do get paid. The rr brass tells us not to submit a HO code as they are now invalid but until my union tells me otherwise, they will be submitted. Personally I'd rather not have these silly cars out here and just have the carriers live up to their union agreements and pay us these claims when they are sumbitted.

[vlmuke]

In South bend the local job uses one and they don't call it a cabbose since it has been gutted and the doors welded shut to keep urban terrorists out, we call it a shoving platform

[carknocker1]

Here is a caboose on a BNSF local out of Joliet , out at LPCHI there is a local that usually has a caboose on it as well .

[J. Edgar]

 Ensel Yd on CSX in Lansing Mi had a old Chessie hack...I would use it when working D708 because of a long backup move at the end of the run.....the oldheads would laff calling me a "foamer"....but i didnt get the claim for a shoving move without a platform.......plus it was just freakin neat riding the coupla like my Greatgrandfather did.....in 2001 it was scrapped

[TimChgo9]

There is a local that goes through Joliet on the BNSF, and it has a caboose...although the last two or three times I saw it, it was sans caboose....

 

[JoeKoh]

here in nw ohio defiance has one for its Y101.fostoria also has an old chessie.marion has one painted like an erie lackawanna and up closer to cleveland the guys have one painted in the B&O scheme.

stay safe

joe

[arkansasrailfan]

I've seen this caboose also. Yes, it is used for the conductor to stand back there

[Anonymous]

Probably doing some long reverse-moves that necessitate the conductor riding on the back-porch for visibility.  Cabooses are still used on locals in quite number of places.  I've seen them on the BNSF Hinckley Sub's local between Northtown Yard and Hinckley, operating in/around Hastings on the old MILW (now CP/SOO) - lots of places.

The BNSF also routinely uses a caboose (which at last report still had its' windows uncovered) on its daily Osseo job that heads-up the former GN's Monticello line.  Sometimes they leave it stored on a spur track over by the Caterpillar plant in Brooklyn Park.

[legsbluetrain]

I just saw a caboose on a local here in Pine Bluff,AR and found out from another railfan the train goes to the Pine Bluff Arsenal and the Arsenal makes UP have a caboose on it for some reason.Anyone has seen any cabooses these days on locals?