Caboose to Engineer communication

[AltonFan]

I seem to recall that the Santa Fe had cabooses equipped with a semaphore device of some kind.

QUOTE: dehusman reports:
The conductor had both a brake valve and an air whistle on the caboose.

I did not know about the whistle. Where would it have been mounted? Or are we talking about a whistle that the conductor himself blew?

QUOTE: HighIron2003ar guesses:
I suspect that on shorter trains they may simply have walked back and forth across the tops of the cars for coffee etc.

From what I understand, walking along roofwalks on a moving train was something the crew preferred to avoid. I would tend to believe that engine crews would either have carried thermos-type bottles for their coffee, or put the firebox to creative use. (I once read an account of how an engine crew cooked steaks on a coal scoop.)

This leads to another question: has anybody attempted to do "manifold cooking" on a diesel locomotive?

[Anonymous]

Avondaleguy,

I have been told a story from somewhere that if an engineer happened to fall asleep waiting on a long hold signal the conductor in the caboose sometimes resorted to opening the train's air system in the Caboose causing a "Big Hole" that usually woke the Locomotive's crew in short order.

It is my understanding that the Conductor was in charge of the entire train from the caboose and the Loco's crew just had to worry about firing the boiler and keeping on schedule etc.

I suspect that on shorter trains they may simply have walked back and forth across the tops of the cars for coffee etc. (I am guessing on this one folks)

Lee

[Anonymous]

Avondaleguy,

I have been told a story from somewhere that if an engineer happened to fall asleep waiting on a long hold signal the conductor in the caboose sometimes resorted to opening the train's air system in the Caboose causing a "Big Hole" that usually woke the Locomotive's crew in short order.

It is my understanding that the Conductor was in charge of the entire train from the caboose and the Loco's crew just had to worry about firing the boiler and keeping on schedule etc.

I suspect that on shorter trains they may simply have walked back and forth across the tops of the cars for coffee etc. (I am guessing on this one folks)

Lee

[dehusman]

The conductor had both a brake valve and an air whistle on the caboose. If he needed to stop the train he would set the air from the rear or if the train was short he could use the whistle to signal. For the most part the engineer and conductor were out of visual range during the trip.

[dehusman]

The conductor had both a brake valve and an air whistle on the caboose. If he needed to stop the train he would set the air from the rear or if the train was short he could use the whistle to signal. For the most part the engineer and conductor were out of visual range during the trip.

[AltonFan]

IIRC, the conductor had a break release in the caboose, so he could stop the train if necessary. Otherwise they used lanterns, flags and hand signals. I would guess the fireman and/or the head end brakeman (the latter often sitting in a "doghouse" on the tender) was repsonsible to periodically check for signals from the caboose.

OTOH, if the engine crew needed to communicate with the caboose, they had whistle signals.

But all this is just odds and ends I picked up from my reading over the years. It would be interesting to hear the experiences of working railroaders from the pre-radio era.

[AltonFan]

IIRC, the conductor had a break release in the caboose, so he could stop the train if necessary. Otherwise they used lanterns, flags and hand signals. I would guess the fireman and/or the head end brakeman (the latter often sitting in a "doghouse" on the tender) was repsonsible to periodically check for signals from the caboose.

OTOH, if the engine crew needed to communicate with the caboose, they had whistle signals.

But all this is just odds and ends I picked up from my reading over the years. It would be interesting to hear the experiences of working railroaders from the pre-radio era.

[Anonymous]

I was just curious, thinking last night about the role of the caboose and its watchful cupola. In the days before radio, how did an observant caboose crew communicate to the engineer, in the even tthat they saw some smoke from a hotbox or detected a derailment, etc.? Did the train length become a factor as caboose needed to be in visual range of the engine? If so, then mountainous terrain would call for shorter trains than the flat plains would, and yet as a Norfolk & Western modeler I see pictures of mallets heading up tremendously long trains all the time. How was it done? Telegraph signal carried through the rails? Pressure variation in the brake line? Telepathy?

[Anonymous]

I was just curious, thinking last night about the role of the caboose and its watchful cupola. In the days before radio, how did an observant caboose crew communicate to the engineer, in the even tthat they saw some smoke from a hotbox or detected a derailment, etc.? Did the train length become a factor as caboose needed to be in visual range of the engine? If so, then mountainous terrain would call for shorter trains than the flat plains would, and yet as a Norfolk & Western modeler I see pictures of mallets heading up tremendously long trains all the time. How was it done? Telegraph signal carried through the rails? Pressure variation in the brake line? Telepathy?