Why don't trains use CABOOSES anymore?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 มิ.ย. 2024
- It seems that most of the American public know about the venerable caboose - but when they see a train, they almost never have a caboose! Why is that? Let's dive in, shall we?
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Another reason I've heard for the end of cabooses: Slack action. As trains grew longer, so did the potential slack in the couplers, leading to serious whiplash at the rear. (Consider the fate of the brakeman in "Emperor of the North" when A-1 dumps the air). Having people at the rear was becoming an outright hazard, especially since they weren't needed very much for the reasons you described.
Side note, the narrow gauge cabooses on the Sumpter Valley also had a "toilet" similar to the C&S one you described. I've been in exactly one Rio Grande long caboose, and I don't recall it having one, which is rather interesting since I'm pretty sure those ones are bigger than ours. Could be misremembering, though.
I knew I was forgetting at least one reason! Cheers Bandan.
This was especially important in the UK with their brake vans. Since British trains still had chain couplings well into the 1970's it was vital to keep the train in tension as much as possible to prevent slack action from breaking the chains, particularly when going down hills when the cars would want to bunch up. The train guard would have to know the route very well to know when to apply the appropriate amount of handbrake to keep tension when going downhill without adding too much extra drag for the often underpowered goods engines. If you've ever watched Thomas and wondered about the engines getting bumped by the Troublesome Trucks, that's probably because a lot of guards on Sodor weren't very good at their job.
You forget one other purpose some cabooses are used for now a days, some have been converted into RC receiver cars for remote control operations
@@GraveSpartan21 And on high-security trains (military, Department of Energy, etcetera) as well as some maintenance of way trains.
honestly, this feels like the only real reason not to have them, the other reasons make the caboose REDUNDANT but redundancy in itself can be a great safety feature
I was a child in the 1970's, and I remember quite vividly how exciting it was to see a caboose on the end of a train. They weren't on every train, but there were enough of them around that I saw them on the regular. I even got waived at by members of the crew who were in the caboose when it passed by. It was a sad day when I realized they had stopped using cabooses. But I still have my fond memories.
@livinginthenow I almost typed the same thing you did. lol
I remember a train without a caboose in the 1970’s was an oddity.
I think it was in the 90s that I started noticing the lack of cabooses on trains.
@@seanryan3020 It might have been in the 90's in your area of the country.
@@Lakillika I said that was when I started noticing. It could have actually started long before that.
When I was in the Army in 1994, we shipped our equipment from Ft. Hood to Ft. Bliss, but they detailed 6 of us to "guard" the train. The train company dug out a decommissioned caboose for us to ride in. So I can say I'm probably one of the last people to ride in a caboose.
Ft. Hood?!? I'm so sorry 😢
These were called
"guards wagons" in NZ.
The power plant coal train in Bremond tx still has a caboose
Some NS locals still use cabooses. Two locals out of Elkhart regularly have them - and the smoke coming from the stove pipe on a cold day tells all that they aren't welded-shut 'shoving platforms'.
Military specials, especially nuclear fuel cell trains and Schnabels still use cabooses (cabeese :-} ) for security and personnel involved with the load.
When I was a kid back in the '80s, I lived a block away from the tracks. I would ride my bike as fast as I could to meet the train when I heard the horn in the distance. I loved waving to the engineers as they went by. I always stayed until the last car just waiting to see if there was a caboose. Sometimes there was, sometimes there wasn't. Then eventually I never saw them again. After watching this video, I now know why we don't see them anymore. :(
I remember seeing them when I was a kid in the 80's too, and the caboose was the one you always wanted to see more than the others. One day we were waiting at the tracks on a train to go by and my dad mentioned they were phasing them out. Sure enough, they became a rare sight and eventually disappeared. I dunno why but to me that kinda ruined my interest in trains, knowing the caboose wouldn't be there at the end.
As a kid, I'd hear the train and wait for it.
Seeing the last car nearing, I'd take off like a bat out of hell on my bike, catch it (always a cargo car) and hitch a ride across town.
It was a street runner, so I wasn't doing (much) nonsense.
I remember back in the 1980s the Southern Pacific guys enjoyed waving back, those guys loved their jobs.
My son is all about trains. Since he was about 4 he has wanted to be a train engineer, he is 15 now and is still working towards that goal and I am sure will eventually reach it as he gains the age and works up the ladder. But my brother, his uncle, was instrumental in the design of the first generation end of train device. When I told my son this I worded it as, "Your uncle killed the caboose" and I don't think he will ever forgive his uncle for his role in killing an American icon.
Can you tell me what presidential administration was in office at the time?
@@mshum538 Clinton
@@lonnywilcox445 no, not at all, carton signed the staggers act ( deregulated the railroads ) and reagan was in office when cabooseless operations commenced in 1985-86-87…..good day…40 years as a Locomotive Engineer ~retired …
Carter~~~
@@mshum538 thats about when they stopped using them on the chessie but I would say no more then 85, and I remember my mom would say wonder if it will have a caboose on the end to play a game with me while we waited for a train downtown, which was frequent and was not till the late 1990's that we got an underpass after many long years of the trains tieing up traffic, now they run them soo long it can go just outside the yard all the way to the next city over 3 miles away if you catch it just right and its an added 5 minutes to go all the way back and though town when you are running late for work and the train is not a hot shot or express, like auto rack or intermodal, and they decide they are just going to stop and block two miles of track or just shy of clearing the switch at the junction on the back road or you get two or three trains running the same time rarely on the tripple tracked main, but I loved the cabooses, they are still used for maintannace of way, tool storage, and for shoving platforms even around here though but are rare to see aside the maintnance of way or the rail grinder or inspection trains.
but it was a good video and explanitive without getting to technical or dumbed down about the reasons for the caboose. there also used to be more people in the crew sometimes up to 5 or more when you had flagmen on trains for crossings or other special situations, but cabooses did not have all the telemetry that modern computers do with a fred or flashing rear of train device, and tracking speed, but cabooses gave more room for deadheading and storage for stuff to bring back from where you are deadheading to back home or storing stuff or magazines for down time both dirty and some that were news or trade related. and it was not on all trains back then but many of them and then one day they just stopped.
Honestly the engineering of "simpler times" is charmingly amazing. Bless the folks that came before us.
I love top of the line stuff for yesteryear, especially yesterdecade. Stuff like talking machines and whatnot
It’s always a good reminder that people in the past weren’t stupid, and may have even been smarter than we are now! We only think we’re smarter now because we have the benefit of standing upon the shoulders of those who came before us.
"But they're all racist and transphobic."
- Average mainstream Democrat
@@lowestcommonDenomanator Past weren’t stupid? Oh boy I can see you didn’t work out there….
@@mshum538 People in the past weren't stupid. They built the civilization that we enjoy today.
Always enjoyed looking for the caboose when growing up in the 70s and early 80s. When they went away, it seemed like the trains were never “complete.” It’s was like reading a sentence with no period at the end. Thanks for the great video explaining their disappearance!
Yeh cut back on extra crew no coboose and ahost of additional crew
Good way to describe it!
In the late 1960’s I worked as a freight brakeman for the Pennsylvania RR.
While most of the time I was in the yard I did occasionally ride the caboose as a rear brakeman with a five man crew One of my favorite memories was riding through smaller New Jersey towns on the rear of the caboose blowing the whistle at crossings.Small groups of people would gather and we’d wave at one another.I’m glad to have had an experience that is know historically
extinct.
Great channel
Good information
Bob Mollot- Seattle
As a half-pint child in the '60s, it was the most favorite part of watching these long lines of trains as they kept vehicles from crossing the tracks. In the distance we'd seek out the colorful caboose - usually red, yellow orange or green - and it'd be a mixture of relief and excitement! And the occupants always waved if you blew your horn. When they disappeared I felt saddened, as if an era of tradition was over. Funny how those simple, fond memories stay with me in Retirement.
Why were we so excited as kids about cabooses? I dunno. Back then, I said the caboose was my favorite part of the train. Maybe it had something to do with Petticoat Junction girls?
the dog was cuter @@SpaceCadet4Jesus
@@tommurphy4307 okay...I see where you're going. I'm calling the cops.
It was great when you waited all that time to get a waive from the conductor!
As a kid in the midwest it was magical to sit in a car at a crossing watching the rolling stock go by, seeing all the names of far away companies and other roads on the boxcars. Best of all was finally seeing the caboose and waving wildly at the crew. Not once was the wave not returned. Thanks for the wonderful tour and description of the various equipment and duties.
In my youth ( I'm 74) I used to do that too. I couldn't wait to see the caboose!! I'd wave and they'd wave back! It was so awesome to me, a kid, that I was giddy! I don't know why, cuz I am female, but it sure made my day!!
That’s what I remember too Earl. I was a kid in the early 1970s and remember just what you said. I remember counting the cars on a train as it passed by. It’s sort of sad that kids don’t see that anymore today.
@BEDTIME BIBLE CHAT I don't see what your gender should have to do with it. Trains are cool, and girls should be allowed to think so! I'm glad you had the opportunity to form such a fun memory.
@@astro6009 Many people my age ( very old ) used to think it wasn't like a girl to like trains. It wasn't just the trains for me, it was just that caboose!! I don't know why I loved it but I did.
@@bedtimebiblechat7152 And I just think that enthusiasm is great, and I'm glad you got to enjoy that. I loved cabeese(?) as a kid as well. There's just something so charming and special about that little red cabin on wheels.
That standard gauge caboose looks comfy! What a lovely little home away from home it must have been, when you compare it to the more cramped and spartan narrow gauge cabeese!
Cabeese sent me. I love it.
You're forgetting the 5 unshowered men who are also in there with you 😂
@@gogofuntime_yt I mean at least you have hot water if it’s that bad 🤣
@@gogofuntime_yt I've done that military life, that stuff doesn't bother me much.
I'd love to buy one and install it on my forever property as a railroad man cave or a place for the young kids in the family to play. Where can someone buy a caboose?
Thank you for explaining things with such a friendly, cheerful and relaxed attitude!
YES INDEED, YES INDEED!
This is the most refreshing comment I've ever read, thank you!!!
Two thumbs way way up. This is the reason for any museum. To spark interest in a subject and/or history that may go unappreciated by most.
The host is both engaging and charismatic and could easily spark interest in even the uninterested.
Nice video, Hyce. There were also some other factors involved. Before railroads started putting up train crews in motels in the 1960s (when they were away at a remote terminal without a railroad YMCA or boarding house), a crew stayed in their caboose until their next assignment. So the bunks and stove were needed for those situations. And until mid-century cabooses were usually assigned to a particular conductor, and when he wasn't working the caboose was stored on a caboose track in a yard. When the practice of assigning cabooses in a pool randomly to crews started, the number of cabooses needed dropped considerably. By the 1980's the cabooses had also become quite expensive which was another factor affecting management's desire to get rid of them. Cheers from Wisconsin!
Well that's a neat tidbit I wasn't aware of! Thank you for sharing Andrew. Makes sense.
Train Crews on the Pennsy Min Line used to be able to see a burnt Bearing on a piece of equipment, before they melted completely away.
HazMat loads might deserve a Caboose.
What costs more, when wrecks start to affect Insurance rates?
Clean up Crews are not Cheap.....
Hazmat Crews seem to cost more than a couple of Caboose crews.....
Keep it Bit Simple No Need to Write 52 pages Letter , No one Have patience to Read, I Dont Understand Why people write 100 page Book in Comments
@@S500- that was one of my brief comments.
I enjoy communication.
You seem to be interested in instant Gratification.
What a shame?
@@danielhutchinson6604 I think they were commenting on my original long comment, Daniel. 🙂 I don't understand why they would respond in that way. If you don't like long comments, just skip them and move on, eh?
My grandfather was a machinist for the B & O Railroad. He died in 1925. I was told they thought at the time it was the Spanish flu. My dad was 7 at time. I was born in 51 and have always been fascinated with trains.
Thank you so much for the in-depth tour of the cars and how you explained the different features. Very informative.
My grandfather also died from the Spanish flu, but it was in 1918. My dad was a carpenter on a B&B crew for the Norther Pacific Railway and the Burlington Northern until he retired in the mid 70s. I worked at a lumber mill in the 1970s and used to mark some of the cars we loaded with a date. They lumber would go all over the US shipped on Nother Pacific, Great Northern and Milwaukee Road lines. Often the cars would be back in our yard for a load in two or three months.
For whatever reason I thought, "what is the official reason we never see cabooses anymore?" I knew their general purpose, but learned more thanks to the video, and wanted to hear how they were phased out. Growing up 3 houses away from a triple set of tracks, I saw a lot of trains. My search ended up here and I am glad it did. Thank you.
That was fascinating. Fifty years ago when I was a kid in Wichita Falls TX, we lived at an apartment complex, and across an arroyo at the end of the complex was a railroad track. Whenever we saw a train coming 4th grade me and my 3rd grade sister would run out there to count the number of cars, and then wave to the brakeman in the caboose. By that time cabooses were probably more of a regulatory thing than anything useful.
I live in Bowie Texas close to the tracks. I will start looking and see if any of the trains have a caboose.
When I was in grade one I rushed to the window to watch the train go by complete with caboose. I only got a chance to do it once.
As a model railroader, cabooses are one of my favorite things. I model the Pennsylvania, who referred to them as Cabin Cars.
Growing up in Waukesha , Wisconsin , '70's, there was a fried chicken shack in an old caboose on side the road.
It was called Caseys Caboose . We loved it, So cool. So tasty.
I was born in 1987 and have fond memories of seeing probably the very last cabooses on trains passing through Chicago in the early-to-mid-90s. Eventually, I realized that they were gone and I never quite understood why until my Dad told me about half of what you just mentioned. I get excited when I see one parked on display at a museum or train station somewhere, a relic of a bygone era. Excellent and informative video!
You must have a really good memory or I didn’t pay attention. I grew up in Chicago since 89. (Born in 83) but I don’t recall seeing “cabooses”. I missed out.
It's an interesting comparison to UK Guard's Vans, which appear to play a similar role. In the UK air brakes and solid couplings came very late to slow freight trains, so in addition to helping slow the train the guard had to take an active role in managing the couplings. When descending a bank the guard would apply their brake in order to keep the train in tension. Otherwise when the locomotive reached the level or the next ascent the transition from compression to tension could damage couplings or even break the train in half.
Unfitted freight with the guard van was rather inefficient, air braking was the way forward
Very interesting and well presented.
They were not called cabooses, here in Australia, we called them guards vans. However, they pretty much served the same purpose. Our guards vans were also retired in the late 1980's. Cheers.
They were called that in New Zealand as well, and they didn't have the cupola bit.
I've heard the replacement of the Guards Van called a BOG. A Battery Operated Guard.
we have song here is the US but it can also be heard in Australia I love to share it everywhere! th-cam.com/video/0jn_W0wzUKY/w-d-xo.html
Before the days of centrally controlled switches, if a train needed to pull onto a siding, the brakeman in the front would open the switch and the one in the rear would close the switch.
The BNSF was still using a caboose on one switch to Cherry Point WA as late as 2016. I remember hearing the caboose whistle as a 30+ car switch train backed across the intersection I was waiting at
I was a freight guard on British Rail in the 70's and 80's. We rode in the brake van (caboose) at the rear and had to manage coupling tension on loose coupled trains when tackling gradients (up or down), also watch for hot axle boxes same as you guys. A snatch along a long train could be bad, especially for the guard. I had one driver (engineer) who used to say, " If I need you, I'll stand you up!" We also acted as rear pointsman (switchman) when any loose shunting had to be done into sidings. The wagons would be detached on the move with a shunting pole, and then hand brakes pinned down once it had come to a stand. Physical, and sometimes dangerous work, but enjoyable. When all freight trains went over to continuous air brakes in the 1980's, the brake van became redundant too. Guards travelled in the locos rear cab, and eventually were done away with altogether.
A caboose brings back fond memories for me. When I was a child we lived with my mother's parents. I had a small room---the old sewing room on the second floor. The house faced west, and in the winter when the leaves were off the trees I could see the RR tracks that ran alongside the river. I would sit in my little room and watch for the trains----especially the caboose. When I got older, I was allowed to walk with the older children to see the trains, especially the freight trains, as they passed by the houses. Sometimes one or two men in the caboose would step out and wave to us----the highlight of our day. We used to spend hours discussing those trains-----and the caboose.
What was in it; what did it look like inside; was it like a miniature house; did people sleep there. Only in the world of childhood could a caboose take on magical, mystical qualities. Good memories! Hail the caboose!
Agreed, for sure. 😄
Here's an idea for a follow-up video: Reasons why some railroads still use cabeese. Whether as a mobile guard shack for high-security trains, remote control platforms or even mobile Maintenance of Way offices, there's a wide variety of reasons to still have a caboose on some trains.
That's a fun idea! I'd honestly need to learn and understand those options moreso to really present that but it is a neat topic.
One of the reasons a railroad might still use a caboose is if it's going to back the train over a public highway. The conductor needs to flag the crossing. The platform of the caboose is much safer than hanging off of the side of a random railcar
Not really~~~other then having a platform to stand on and not having to hang on the side of a car they are nothing but a nuisance, ask any yardmaster they could care less about “safety”….
@@mshum538 And how many years were you with the railroad?
@@TheOneTrueDragonKing 40 continuous,👍~~~
I grew up in a small town next to then Grand Trunk RR. Used to hang out at the depot which was about a 100yrds from my house. The station master used to set at a desk with a telegraph key send and receive messages, hand off paper instructions with a wishbone to the conductor in the caboose. Trains would stop now and then with a hotbox, smoking. Good memories growing up,im 73 now.
Thanks for the explanation! I worked for Missouri Pacific out of Kingsville Texas in fall of 1971 and our cabooses looked very similar to the latter caboose in this video. I remember racks for torpedos and flares also.
I loved seeing cabooses as a kid and wondered my whole life why they all of the sudden went away. This was a fantastic video, thank you sir!
Lawsuits. Surely you've seen commercials for mesothelioma payments offered? Carrying people in the back left them in a cloud of asbestos every time the brakes were applied. It's a liability and hurts their bottom line.
Same here. In my 50s - I always wondered but never asked. I kind of figured some of it out as a technology advancement reason. I always thought they were interesting.
Nowadays... seeing a train go by with FRED is.... disappointing.
Soooo. You didn't have internet until today
I love the cabooses that have theCoppola because they had a cool desk on the end of the train and a cool table in the Coppola
As someone who knows how important railroads used to be, and realizes that are still among if not the most efficient way of moving cargo and freight over long distances, I greatly appreciate locomotives and the history of them. Thank you for making these videos.❤️❤️
And people!
@@theamazinghippopotomonstro9942 "People" are very inefficient, but trains are the most efficient way of moving cargo, especially over land. Nothing against truckers, but trains don't have the drag of rubber tires or nearly as much wind resistance per shipping container. They can move heavy loads over long distances with very little little energy compared to being on trucks. 2 to 4 trucks work the energy can pull 200 of those 53' shipping containers instead of one per truck. Anyway people are important too though when it comes to operating those trains, just not so much when it comes to moving people. Everyone is going somewhere different, and it doesn't make sense to use an entire train to move a few people. In the case of big cities for example it does over short distances like New York for example, but that's why they already have a subway system. Beats sitting in the parking lot traffic. In all honesty I'd just get a moped and something heavy duty to lock it up with. Thank you for the feedback though, I do greatly appreciate it.❤️❤️
@@kentworch Trains are excellent to move people between cities that are too close to fly and too far to drive. Europe and Asia have a robust, fast passenger rail network and it works. You take an intercity train to go from city to city and then a metro to move around within that city
@@theamazinghippopotomonstro9942 That makes sense especially for heavily traveled routes, but not so much for moving across the country here in the USA. The ones we have go mostly unused and it doesn't make much sense for an entire train to go across the country for only 6 to 8 passengers. That's what is actually going on though, and it's honestly kinda sad to see. Like I said, more people need to use them. Trains are still excellent for transporting freight though, and in all honesty, I think we need to use railroads more and use the trucks for local distribution rather than moving our freight across the country by truck. Trains are much more efficient when it comes to long haul transit. One train can easily carry the cargo of 200 semi-trucks while only using the energy of 2-4 of those trucks. As far as people go, it's great in those high traffic areas, but wasteful if there aren't enough passengers.
For moving freight ; the rail trains are highly efficient. On YT it talks about trains. 500MPG No passenger car can do that. Commercial trucks get maybe 15MPG pulling 1 50 foot reefer(refrigerated) -trailer whereas a train can pull 200 reefers across country. It basically has to be then taken by truck where ever the train stops at the railway hubs.(as they do to this day)and hauled to the town or store that is not beside the rail line. No need for long distance hauling.
. Since the 10day debacle with the container ship (the EVERGREEN) IN THE Suez canal, THAT ISSUE has now been addressed with them digging a second canal (pairing it) so it cannot happen again. That shows how "thread like" fragile the demand/supply chain really is. Containers have been piling up at loading docks, stacked atop of each other BECAUSE THERE IS NOT ENOUGH certified truck drivers available to haul the containers away. The docks figure it will take 6 MONTHS before things will be back to NORMAL. Many train tracks have been ripped out (stuff they could use right now) and dock workers have agreed to a new contract that they run 24/7/365 to clear up the backlog, BUT stores & industry have not agreed to be open 24/7 to receive the goods. They are PRIVATE businesses such as grocery stores, furniture stores, fertilizer plants, construction outlets, which is WHY we suffer shortages and higher prices(aka INFLATION). That includes FUEL from overseas. Nothing the POTUS can do. He cannot magically cannot make Truckers. It is something we have to wait out (unless you want to pay 5X's the cost for the item.) I know, I won't.
Part of the fun of TH-cam is coming across gems like this video. Very well done!
Here in Germany I've only seen crew cars on a super heavy transport train hauling a massive transformer. Since it moved really slowly, I presume they were either there to enable 24 hour operations or to handle all the special permits required for such a train.
On the really large or heavy loads, they may have crew to ensure the load can safely make it past nearby obstacles. There are TH-cam videos of some examples.
NZ Railway retired their Guards Vans (Brake Van/Caboose) in around the mid 80's, the last batch of vans built like 10 years prior, many of these FM ("F" designate for Guards Van "M" Modular) class are still around today, some on heritage railways some with Kiwirail as crew, Ballast blow or researcher EA class wagons on work trains, some converted into observation AKV ("A" Designated for passenger, "K" Kiwirail? "V" Viewing) and/or generator carriage AG ("A" Designated for passenger, "G" Generator), or some have simply been sold bogie less and sold off in modules or full sets as person accommodation
Great post! Thank you for sharing and breaking down the history of the caboose and the people who manned them.
As for me, it makes me sad we don't see cabooses anymore. One of my most fondest train memories growing up was that while stopped at a crossing with my parents, and no matter how long the train was, we eagerly awaited the caboose's passing as we would always get a hearty wave from the conductor. It was like receiving a blessing or the granting of a wish. I remember this vividly and was sorry that when my own kids came along that they couldn't experience that same little taste of happiness. It was such a big deal for me and my siblings growing up. I miss that.
Absolutely! One of my earliest memories was of the train headed from Minturn to Leadville (Colorado)... we lived in Vail. My father would drive me and my brothers to the first curve up Battle Mountain Pass, just past Tigawon. We would wave at the caboose as it passed... always received a wave back. That was nearly 60 years ago... time flies by for sure.
I go back to the 1940s at age 5, watching trains and have been trackside since my teens; though not a former.
So, obviously saw the steam days in their glory and cabooses.
Now, I live in Calgary, the home of CPKC, where we see 2-mile train almost by the hour, with either a mil-train unit (distributed power) or a pusher.
I started to get interested in end-of-train units when they removed the caboose and have also had several cab rides; one documented here for 95 miles.
My rating for the video: A very solid 10 out of 10. Actually, an 11.
Nice explanation to show kids.
This video brought back many memories. My dad was a Switchman for Southern Railway up into the mid-'60s. His brother was a Yard Master, and my mom worked in the office along with a couple cousins of hers as well as my aunt. Dad would work around the Atlanta area switching out cars at different businesses about 95% of the time and the other time he could make extra money being on the Extra Board with other railroad men who would travel over the main lines delivering the freight cars to different cities in a further area away from Atlanta. They would take a long train of freight cars and drop them off at different locations along the way and bring back freight cars on their way back to Atlanta. My mother's dad also worked for the railroad earlier in her life until he slipped getting off a moving train and had his leg cut off when it fell under the wheels. She swore she would NEVER marry a man who worked for the railroad, but life didn't work out that way. My parents passed away within a year after I graduated from high school and a couple of years after that I went to apply for a job with the Southern Railroad doing the job of watching computers that would tell when a train cars wheels were overheating as you talked about, but I would never have survived such a boring job. Dad worked before the use of radios to talk with the Engineer using hand signals during the day and at night time his lantern was moved in certain ways to instruct the Engineer on what was needed to couple and move away from the locations they were or to clear railroad crossings and other certain duties..... Thanks for bring back the memories of my dad. He passed 58 years ago.
Your parents had real jobs, important ones because of the vital importance of the railways and the strong need to get things right. Hand signals and mechanical signals had to be learned hard and well, with zero tolerance for error. You made a mistake, severe damage might be done or lives lost. A lot of pressure to never let concentration lapse.
If you made a mistake, you'd be sacked on the spot, perhaps the only breadwinner in the family. Not a lot of social security then. I hope your granddad got compensation for his loss.
I loved the life growing up, thru movies, TV, Boys Own adventure books, etc. But with a learning disability, never felt being a signalman was for me... what if I got it wrong? Huge responsibility.
When I was still young, lots of older railway workers were missing a leg or two, and more had missing fingers from setting couplings. Back then the railways didn't shunt them off out of sight, paying a pension. They kept them employed, taking tickets mainly, but also station maintenance, running the cloakroom, setting timetables, etc.
I was in awe, here was a bloke with both legs missing as well as a few fingers, still proudly working in his spotless railways uniform.
A friend of mine did make a FRED for Stormworks to put at the end of the train, but even with signals and computer setups, we still insisted on having a caboose at the back in multiplayer.
A lot of reasons for it, but it was generally easier to transport and have someone monitor the train at the back, and of course... As mentioned previously, we still had the "train surfing" option built into every car so the guy at the back could get to the engine if needed.
We also found what we jokingly called the "Best caboose", basically if you take a small house with a garden and squeeze into a railroad car shape and gauge...
Of course complete with beds, kitchen and a TV :P
Well that's fun!
This is awesome- 😂
I was a 'Trackman’ for several years, for the Santa Fe Railroad in Oklahoma City in the 1970's. We would occasionally be transported via Caboose to a remote area to repair some tracks for the railroad. I LOVED riding on the Caboose. Then sometime afterwards I quit the ‘HARD LABOR’ of a Trackman. Then one day I saw a train go by with the little box at the end. And I thought WTF !!
Hyce delivers the information in a positive and cheerful manner. If only all instructors were this engaging!
My ex wife and I repainted the Union Pacific caboose "Red Hot and Rollin'" (UP25616) two years ago, and it was so cool to explore the inside and look into all of the storage compartments, I wish we had the time and the money to fully restore it. Hopefully I can do more stuff like this in the future with another partner or someone
I remember seeing them all the time as a child in the 80’s. There was a train track I could see that was about 1/2 mile away from my front window. I would watch them go by everyday and was always excited to see the caboose. It was my favorite part 😆
Agreed. Seeing the caboose was magical.
My grandfather was a brakeman for Pennsylvania Railroad until he got hurt after taking a wild ride on a runaway car. He died in 1975 when I was really young and I wish I had the opportunity to learn more about his job on the trains.
Interesting, and all makes sense. I also remember watching for the caboose at the end of the train, especially stopped on the road at a railroad crossing, and a long train. Peering down the tracks trying to see the end of the train, and finally you'd spot the distinctive caboose and know it was almost time for the signals to stop and the arms to lift. Then the caboose would pass by in front of you and you felt like cheering. And sometimes the caboose crew would wave.
Great info: My heart still yearns to see a caboose at the end of a train !💔
As a child whenever we would get stuck at a rail crossing and had to wait for the train to roll by I never much cared about the cars I saw, but when the caboose would show up I always paid attention. Some were yellow while some were red, and I remember once seeing the most vivid bright green one, all freshly painted. Something about seeing them roll by was magical beyond just signalling the end of the train and telling us that we were safe to drive on.
Totally agree. Can't figure out why.
I’m nearing 50 and was part of the generation that saw the transition. As a small boy, I enjoyed seeing the caboose and the conductor in the cupola. I find it strange how so many shared this enjoyment.
It was sad seeing them disappear. My kids don’t know what a caboose is, other than seeing them in museums.
Not true. I was a 90s kid and we knew what a caboose was because they’re in all the train sets, yet very confused about not seeing them IRL.
@@ferretyluv What did I say above that was not true?
@@67L48 That kids don’t know what a caboose is.
@@ferretyluv Where did I ever say that kids don't know what a caboose is?
@@67L48 “My kids don’t know what a caboose is.”
My dad got big into radio stuff using a scanner and I remember there were certain channels for trains. Specifically, the last car on the train has a radio transmitter emitting atone on a specific frequency. That’s the only reason I knew that there were no cabooses and what was in place, but I still always liked cabooses.
Growing up a kid in a rural area during the 80s I still remember seeing the bright red caboose at the tail end. When the distant rumble giving notice of the oncoming train would announce itself I'd go outside to watch it go by (about 1/2 mile away). Was a bit disappointed when they stopped having them at the end of I think it was the last couple years of the 80s or the very early 90s.
I hadn’t thought about this in ages but the memories came flooding back instantly. I grew up in the 50s and lived less than 100 feet from the tracks. Fortunately there was a crossing about a quarter mile away so the trains were going slow. The still shook the house pretty good. There were 2 sidings, 1 for storage and unloading, and the other led to the plant that supported the area. At the crossing there was a switch house with a storage space. Me and my friends got to know the switchman and some of the train workers well. We sometimes got to ride with them in the caboose. They sometimes paid us to unload a car into the storage area while they sat in the shade. Stuff sometimes just happened to drop between the car and the platform. We seldom had to buy Kingsford charcoal briquettes.
Lucky
Kids books have the Caboose in the pages. However, cabooses were used for communication as radio was not invented until the 1960’s. CN was the last one to use Cabooses.
Great video!
Also, do you think you could make a video explaining crew communication pre Walkie Talkies?
In particular the cord that would connect through the train to the cab bell? I feel plenty of people mistake that for a break cord thanks to the movies. It'd be great to see that clarification.
Great suggestion!
@@Hyce777 Thanks for another excellent vid. Would love more on this. I know the rear brakeman was to watch for hotboxes what did they do when he saw something that required a stop? Did they just pull the air, or was it with those lamps? edit -Never mind you answered it! I also feel like given recent events, having a human looking at things might prevent a train from being on fire for miles.
In some areas, there WAS a brake cord though. I have been on a train with them. The cord ran the length of the carriage, and at the end it pulled on a lever which vented the air. The lever was easily visible, so staff could quickly find which car had its valve activated.
This was the Kuranda Scenic Railway in Queensland, Australia.
@@briannem.6787 I've seen it as well in the US.
@@briannem.6787 I recall one instance where a passenger, probably a drunk, pulled the emergency cord & wore flat spots on all of the wheels on the passenger train.
I actually had the pleasure several times of riding and sleeping in the Caboose back in my Hobo days and then came that very small smart blinking red box replacement and therefore my sleeping, eating, , and sheltering in the big red Caboose was over. Thank you for the tutorial.
Blinking light actually had a name which was FRED, short for Flashing Rear End Device. For the jobs it cost, those workers replaced flashing with fu***ng.
InFormative. I Always Thought That The Last Part Of A Train Was Called A Caboose. First Time To See The Inside Of A CaBoose. Thank You.
Not sure why the algorithm brought me here but I’m so glad it did. You, sir, are delightful.
Here in Queensland, where the equivalent vehicle was called a"guard's van", my father once explained to a guard his importance, using the comparison of the small sugar cane trains that hauled sugar cane to the mill...
"See that cane train over there? See that long stick of cane with a flag sticking up on the last bin? THAT'S THE GUARD!"
The story I heard when the railroads stopped using Cabooses was that it was cost saving to not have them anymore. Which makes sense. A lot of railroad men objected to it, but did no good of course.
It also made it easier to cut a trainman position after 1985.
Railroad unions fought having airbrakes on boxcars too. The unions have opposed every technological improvement.
@@Oldman808sadly unions can often destroy what they claim to protect , ironically they weren't particularly supportive of the much safer janney coupler whilst railway companies weren't keen as the unit's were expensive yet once introduced they had no regrets, - human nature isn't always that logical 😉
Yet i do support the principle of unions to protect workers rights
@@charlesburgoyne-probyn6044 Yes, believe it or not, I too recognize the value of the unions.
My dad worked for Southern Pacific at the terminal on Market Street, San Francisco for 25 yrs. I have lots of great memories riding trains with my family.
My father worked for Southern Railway, in the early 1980’s a caboose cost around $80000 dollars. They wanted to do away with them and one of the train crew, which eventually happened. The seniority was bought out and done away with. Now they are trying to have one on a through freight. It’s all about money for the company and stockholders.
This was an excellent video! I’ve often asked that question myself. I was lucky enough to remember trains with cabooses back in the 80s. It’s a bit of nostalgia when I see one nowadays. And I know it would never happen, but I think cabooses in someone to monitor the rear of the train should come back for all the safety reasons.
Yet with the recent incident in East Palestine, the amount of money the insurance company is going to HAVE TO PAY OUT, maybe a caboose is not such a bad idea as trains get longer. Or an upgrade to the ENTIRE RAIL SYSTEM (as most of it was laid in the 1800 or earlier) or dynamite brakes installed when there is a break in the air lines(as proposed by Obama) Right now the RR company is going to be sued to the Ying Yang.
I'm sorry but the plural form is _Cabeese,_ not cabooses
Usually I would trust Hyce, but cabeese sounds funnier so I'll believe you instead.
we love cabeese
Actually, it's caboozen
Like a goosesses or geesesse?
I thought it was like potato patato
Very informative........I never had it explained to me before.I enjoyed his narrative...GOOD JOB !!
I ride Caltrain in the Bay Area and I always saw a small triangle on the wheels spinning and always asked myself what they were...this video answered that question. Thanks for such informative video! :)
Amazing the differences between the baby Bobber Grande caboose and the standard gauge C&S one. An actual office/work/living space.
I know few “cabeese” are still in service these days, but they’re so damn endearing. Thanks for sharing, Mark!
This video is REALLY good. I've looked over the rest of your channel and didn't see much else like it. I'm not sure if this is just a new format you're trying out, but I would LOVE to see more content like this.
I'd wondered why caboose vehicles were no longer a part of modern trains, so thanks for the awesome explainer as to the _Why_ and the _Why no longer_ of the Caboose! 🚂😇👍
Coming from the UK - Where our loading gauge is much smaller than in the U.S. (3,5m/11ft 6in high by 2,1m/6ft 8in wide) - We've never used the American form of caboose as they couldn't possibly fit on the British network. However, older Guards' (Conductors') vans had windows that protruded slightly from the side of the car with edge glass that allowed looking along the side of the train whilst in motion, and these were most likely provided for the same reasons. 😺
27 years of living, and not once did I ever question the purpose of a caboose...thank you for this video.
Thank you for this clip. I watched it all and enjoyed it.
Unloaded coal trains at a powerplant since 1980. Don't remember when they quit coming without cabooses. They were replaced by FRED as the rail guys called it, the "Effin' rear end device." As trains went from 60 to 130 cars, they have pusher engines. The RR drops off the train, the powerplant guys are trained to run it around the unloading loop. Lots of nostalgia thinking about the caboose.
I've seen cabooses here being used as shoving platforms. However at the railroad museum we let people ride in them and even use tail house on it during operations :)
I miss seeing cabooses (cabeese?) on our local freights. I grew up in the 1980s so I saw the end of their widespread use.
Thank you for this video walk through of a couple of quite old units, with explanation of their use and onboard equipment.
I lived in steel mill area of West Virginia- Weirton. We had coal cars and slag cars for the used material: small but very heavy. I was young enough in the 1960s that I didn't know that much about the trains except when we had to wait for half . or more for it to pass so we could get into downtown Weirton. Later I got into model railroading: N scale and narrow gauge O scale. Now I just want to make sure the cat doesn't knock the trains off to play with the cars! Thank you for explaining why there are no cabooses on trains anymore. That's a shame for all of us young children back then who enjoyed the trains.
I love this whole video and historical value how certain technologies were used before it evolved to become obsolete. Love the music at the end nostalgia touched a nerve. Great job to the host and very interesting and thank you for showing a little piece of our history.
Amazing video! We still used cabooses up until I left CP in 2019, to do a transfer with BNSF. It was the exact same style as this but sadly they welded the doors shut to keep out the vagrants. It was a nice windbreak from North Dakota winters when waiting for clearance to BNSF trackage!
I absolutely loved getting to see all of that about the bearings. I've been researching bogie suspensions like the ones they use on trains. Fun fact, all of our tanks in WW2 used bogie suspensions as well .
Yes, and bogie boards...oh, wait. :-)
Thx Hyce. I'm glad I saw the thumbnail; I've wondered that answer for years. Being 66 now, I remember them well. Waiting for the train to get to the end and maybe getting a wave back, if they saw you. I thought they looked so good in red. Ah, take me back...
Yes TH-cam, these are the kinds of recommendations I need. More of these!!!!
Reminds me of my childhood in Wisconsin. Seeing the trains go by was always a joy. It's a shame what we've lost and what people don't see when they don't look away from a screen.
Canadian '80s kid here, I remember waiting to see if a long freight train had one was a few minutes of entertainment for a wee kid :)
@@devilsoffspring5519 I'm also Canadian, but a bit older than you. I recall the last days of steam. I recall seeing the steam engines when we lived in Unionville, Ontario, then a small farming community north of Toronto. When we moved to Oakville, near a Ford plant west of Toronto, I don't recall seeing them, just diesels. This was roughly the time Canadian railroads retired steam in favour of diesel.
Thanks Mark for your excellent chat about the caboose. You touched upon so many important cultural and technological points. Also loved to see the insides especially the later example with all those home away from home amenities. Love the lamp box, a cupola’s mini me 🤣! Anyway thanks again Professor for another fab class.
I remember as a young kid watching out for the Caboose on a train. If a trainmen was on it, he would toot the air whistle for us! Big Thrill at 5 years old! When I get nostalgic, those are the things I think of! The kindly old trainman tooting that whistle for me!!
I really really liked this video. I was an Electrician for the last cabooses ever made in the United States, We installed a diesel generator system with 129/220 volts A.C. as well as a 12bvolt lighting system. A living quarters. It went to Saudi Arabia, built in Chesapeake Virginia 1982
Just discovered your channel! Rang the bell, subscribed with all notifications and now paying a sincere compliment. You have a very nice presentation style and explain things very cleanly and simply. I am an old techno geek both mechanical and electronics and it's always nice to find somebody that can explain things to others who don't speak those languages LOL.
When I was very young, I believe all trains had a caboose. They started to phase them out throughout my childhood. For a large portion of my childhood, it was very exciting to wait for the end of the train to see if it had a caboose. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Look at all the cartoons & movies we grew up with. Very rarely shown without one. In fact, some of the action or exposition usually came from the caboose. They're part of our history.
A train wasn't complete without a caboose. ❤
Passenger trains didn't. However, in the remote areas of Northern Ontario (and probably elsewhere) there were mixed trains, with freight cars, a passenger/baggage car and a caboose.
As a boy, growing up in the 1950s, trains hauling wheat from farm towns, had cabooses. I often went out to the tracks and watched them pass thru town, stopping at the grain elevators and loading wheat. I graduated in the early 1960s and now I know the cabooses of those trains didn't have roller bearings. A caboose still sits in Snyder,OK today.
When I was 9 or 10 years old I got a ride from Palatka, Fl to Lake City, Fl about 75 miles in a Caboose. My Grand Dad worked for Southern RR for 47 years. I remember the man's name I was with, it was Fargo. Fargo always gave me a silver dime when I saw him... I don't even think the tracks are still there next to Hwy 100 today.
I see that caboose 49 was used to model the caboose in RO
that was my first thought haha "I'm sure i recognise that interior from somewhere"
Yes! Thank you…. Was thinking “Where have I seen this before?” Deja vu
Thanks for that tidbit on Timken (or whoever) calling the other bearings friction bearings - it worked as we have always called them that lol. Interestingly, on our South African stock, they painted three yellow rings in each corner of wagons with roller bearing bogies so they could see it from a distance. Also, I found out the Germans used to have the caboose behind the loco and when wanting to do away with it why some tenders have like a small cabin on top
Hot boxes - it wasn't pointed out, but you could see the packing remains in the journal box Hyce opened. To retain the grease/oil, those boxes were packed with rags. So, grease and a wick. My grandfather moved to Pueblo during WW2 to work for the "Hotbox Company" (I don't recall the exact name). They were developing the first defect detectors and dealing with repacking the bearings.
I seem to recall the packing was cotton waste.
Back in around 1971 I was a brakeman and I rode in the caboose for Santa Fe Railroad. Back then they wouldn’t even hire you if you wore glasses , you had to be in top shape and they gave me an extensive physical including x-rays to make sure I had a good back. I haven’t seen the inside of a caboose in a long time. Anytime we crossed over into Louisiana the train would slow down because they didn’t maintain their tracks like Texas did .
I am wanting to say that George Westinghouse invented the air brakes on locomotives. Before that, everyone worked at their own speed applying brakes. Great video!
You know your railroad history.
Curious. Back in the early 2000's, Union Pacific had a caboose parked on a track behind my old house, for a couple years. When I got brave enough to board it, when I was looking through the glass of the door, I noticed the door was ajar. It was a summer Sunday, so I entered to check it out. It had only 2 berths, a short ladder to sit on a cupola bench, and to my surprise a bathroom. There were signs of a stove, but it was long gone. The lights were all electric, so I'm guessing it was maybe a 50's or 60's period caboose? I wish I had a camera back then.
My gramps was a Santa Fe Conductor. He retired before I was born, early 60's for us both. Our local Depot was demolished. Passenger trains don't stop here anymore. The Caboose was his and the Engineer was at the front.
Growing up in the 1980s I remember seeing them; they were the anticipated highlight of the entire train.
Awesome video Hyce!! Of neat note, the East Broad Top cabooses more closely resemble the standard gauge caboose, just scaled down, than it does caboose 49, especially in terms of how its equipped.
The newer and bigger Rio Grande cabooses are similar as well, I thought it'd be fun to show off the bare bones lad.
@@Hyce777 Agreed :) it's definitely neat to see the bare bones lad. A nice comparison of where cabooses started and where they evolved to :)
Thank you for the information and sharing this video. I have always thought trains today don’t look normal without the cabooses! It would be awesome if they added them back on the ends dispute using them or not! Have a great day
Add a kid in the ‘70s we were crazy enough to hop trains on a regular basis. There was a switch point where they usually stopped and one day we got into the caboose! We rode it for a bit, sat in the chairs then hopped off. When they went away we noticed how incomplete the trains seemed to be - no symmetry, so sad…
I used to come to this railroad museum as a kid. Still recognize the green caboose in the background here
To quote WTYP: FRED the scab
Lmao, I haven't gotten to that EP of the pod yet but it sounds great
@@Hyce777 Lac Megantic is a great episode
I haven't thought about cabooses in 60 years, yet today I watched your 16 minute video about em. A great way to start my week.
Thanks, Hyce. I did enjoy this! I can't help but consider how those guys felt watching their jobs disappear. Few industries saw such quick advances and changes like the railroad. I often wonder how much progress has to do with good things, as much as it has to do with profit for somebody. Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Those days are long gone. BUT! I still run cabooses on all my O gauge trains. :)
Union radicalization during WWII and in the post war years forced Congress and Truman in the U.S. to create a seperate class of medical and retirement benefits specifically for railroad retirees in large part because of how unique the shifts and hours were for calculating the new Social Security benefits.
Reimbursements to medical providers for example were processed at different rates, usually higher than regular Medicare and were paid under a different section on explanations of benefits.
Of course, federalizing the railroads because of strikes and work slowdowns and buying labor peace was part as well.
When I was a kid in the 1950's I became aware of the term "featherbedding." With the conversion to diesel electrics, no more need for firemen. But they were guaranteed a job because of union rules. Basically, they just rode the rails with nothing to do.
@@frequentlycynical642 "Nothing to do"? Except keep watch for signals an engineer might miss, and keep an eye on the engineer too. Why do you think commercial airplanes are REQUIRED to have co-pilots?
@@ReggieArford Oh, please. They were out of a job. Period. Except for the union protection.