Where have all the cabooses gone ?...

[Anonymous]

One night a number of years ago, I was sitting at a crossing waiting for a freight train to pass. When it finally did pass, I noticed that there was no caboose, but only a box with a red blinking light attatched to the back of the last car...
Since then, I've gotten use to the change, but I still miss the old cabooses.
Anybody know what year the railroads stopped using them and why ?.

[Anonymous]

You can still find them on a few local frieghts, never on the mainline stuff though.

[Anonymous]

Most railroads stopped using them around the 1970s. They just didn't need them anymore. That red light you saw was an End-of Train Device. Some mining railroads, though, still use cabooses, because they have to back the unit trains up the branches. If you have any more questions, ask![:D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by pennsyperson

Most railroads stopped using them around the 1970s. They just didn't need them anymore. That red light you saw was an End-of Train Device. Some mining railroads, though, still use cabooses, because they have to back the unit trains up the branches. If you have any more questions, ask![:D]

I live down here in south Texas, and I've got two railroads within twenty miles of me (Union Pacific and BNSF). If memory serves me right, I think it was in the early 90s when I first noticed that they weren't using cabooses anymore. At that time, what is now the Union Pacific was still Southern Pacific, and I guess it's those cabooses that I really miss the most.

[dehusman]

They were phased out in the 1980's. They were expensive to maintain and were a safety hazard (more injuries occurred on cabooses than engines). Railroads went to telemetry devices (which gave the engineer instant feedback on what was happening on the rear end, movement, train length and air pressure). The cars had gotten high and wide enough and the trains long enough that the person on the rear end couldn't see more than a couple dozen cars ahead in most cases.

Most of the cabooses were scrapped, donated to local cities for display in parks or sold off. The MRL recently converted several to RCL control cars, but mentioned that it was having a hard time finding cabooses to convert.

Dave H.

[Mark300]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trainluver1

Anybody know what year the railroads stopped using them and why ?.

Congress kind of deregulated alot of things in the railroad industry in 1980 when it passed the Staggers Act; It relieved the RR's from ending a frieght consist with a caboose or cabin.

However the NS still runs a freight between Coatesville & Plymouth PA on the old PRR 'Trenton Cutoff" consisting of a dozen hoppers, gons and an old bay window caboose in faded Conrail blue & white.

I agree - it's still an aesthetically pleasing (if obsolete) way of ending a train.

Mark

[Anonymous]

Where have all the cabooses gone?
Gone to scrapyards, every one!
When will they ever learn?
When will they e-e-e-ver learn?

[(-D][:-,][tdn][tdn]

[bikerraypa]

We got 'em all here. The Bessemer & Lake Erie still runs beautiful old bright-red bay window cabooses. They have some tricky trackwork around Butler, including (I think) a mile or two backup move, so they use cabooses. I caught this one at the tail end of a train on the Monroe Street overpass last October.



Ray out.

p.s. and YES, it will ALWAYS be the Bessemer. I refuse to call it the Canadian National Greenville Subdivision or whatever.

[Train 284]

They are neat, but the railroads saw them as saftey hazards and uneconmical and not worth a darn. Besides, with today's technology, there really is no use for them anyway, Sad.

Matt

[brazos87]

BNSF uses a few old cabooses in the Temple, TX area. They are stenciled "shoving platform only". From what I understand, the doors are welded shut--but the conductor riding the shove at least has a place to stand on the platform, and doesn't have to ride the shove from the side of a freight car.

[Dough]

CSX uses them on several locals here in Georgia. Although as mentioned, they are used as shoving platforms.

I once heard that shortlines were buying them up to use as shoving platforms because many of them just run from point A to B and then back up. The local shortlines seem to be buying cabooses, but then they just let them rust away. Perhaps they were more maintence than they anticipated?

[ac4400fan]

as long as i have a layout i will use them! to preserve.old old fact that having them at that time ,kept alot of ,men in a job,moving back switches,ect, god bless them

carl.

[Anonymous]

Well our chamber of commerce uses one as an office.
It sits right off of the KCS mainline.
I also notice those highdollar rugrat farms have them out front (daycare).
I am a caboose junkie I do not care if they match my era I buy them up.

[IRONROOSTER]

I have seen them on major railroad maintenance projects. Don't know if they were used as offices, housing, storage or all three.
Enjoy
Paul

[betsy662]

1985 was when the DOT finally allowed railroads to stop using cabooses in mass, there were a few in the 70's that were allowed to run without cabooses, the FEC was one of them..............[8D][8D][8D]

[Fergmiester]

CN still uses them on it's indutrial lines in Halifax and Dartmouth but they are becoming scarce.

A guy in Tatagamouche has bought up a bunch and converted them into B&B's. Here's his website

www.trainstation.ns.ca/main.html

Fergie

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TA462

Now that is cool. My wife and I are going to the east coast this summer. We WILL be staying there for sure. Thanks for the site Fergie.

There are several other small museums in the area worth seeing, such as the Balmoral Grist Mill and the Sutherland Steam Lumber Mill. If you're looking for more gems e-mail the Nova Scotia Tourist Bureau and ask for the Doers and Dreamers Guide.

Fergie

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by pennsyperson

Most railroads stopped using them around the 1970s. They just didn't need them anymore. That red light you saw was an End-of Train Device. Some mining railroads, though, still use cabooses, because they have to back the unit trains up the branches. If you have any more questions, ask![:D]

The agreement with the rail unions allowing the railroads to eliminate the caboose was inked in 1982. The caboose phase out began soon after. It is doubtful any serious caboose eliminating took place before the unions agreed to it.

[CPPedler]

C.P. still use them in Western Canada (I don't know if they're used in the east ,I guess so) , on MOW trains and way - freights. CPPedler

[MisterBeasley]

That's one reason I'm modelling in the '60s. Somehow, it's not quite a train without a caboose on the end.

[sparkingbolt]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MisterBeasley

That's one reason I'm modelling in the '60s. Somehow, it's not quite a train without a caboose on the end.

Ah, the luxury we modelers enjoy... If you want to model the days of cabooses, you get to. If you want to model a modern railroad and include cabooses, you get to. If you want to eliminate them as the prototype has, you can do that too. I agree with MisterBeasly above, and others, who HAVE to see the train end with a coboose, it's just proper punctuation.[:D]Dan