Do you miss cabooses?

Question

This is building answers slowly so I think I will let it stay until it defaults to voting

Answer 1

h**l and no cold drafty wet ya no

Answer 2

While their purpose has been made mostly obsolete by newer technologies (they are still used in limited services, such as for back up moves for safety reasons), I still miss them.  A freight train doesn't quite look complete without a caboose in tow on the very end. :o)

Regarding buying your own caboose below is the website to the best known place to get one, Rail Merchants International.

Answer 3

You can buy a caboose. Get a copy of "Trains" magazine and check the ads in back.

Answer 4

Yes, I miss cabooses. A freight train is not a complete freight train without its caboose.

Answer 5

I enjoy looking at cabooses!

Answer 6

Yes I do.  I always looked forward to waving at the guy in the caboose when I was a kid.

Answer 7

yes very interesting but not necessary any more

Answer 8

Yes. I have always wondered if I could purchase a caboose to use as an office on my property.

Answer 9

Yes and No.

I miss the "old days" when I first went to work, ther were 5 man crews, an engineer, fireman, conductor and two brakemen.

Cabooses saved a lot of work at times and provided a measure of safety that no matter how the railroads spin it is gone.

But the cabooses were a pain in the rear (pun intended!) for several reasons also.

There were a lot of personal injuries in cabooses, When you climbed on a caboose, with some hogheads you KNEW it was gonna a velvety smooth ride, with others you literally were taking your life in your hands (or more properly, putting your life in their hands). It didnt take long to discover who really was the good engineers. In mountain grade, you had to to be verry careful shoving on cabooses owing to the fact that relatively speaking they are quite light.

Now we have our helpers shove directly on the rear of the train when conditions allow so losing the caboose saved a good bit of time on heavy trains.

Like everything, a mixed bag, both good and bad.

I would still like to have them, sure made an engineer pay a lot more attention to his train handling, I am sure there is more freight damage without cabooses. I never had a FRED tell me I spilled his coffee.

I guess I miss those days of railroading, but then I was a lot younger, perhpas I miss that more LOL .

Answer 10

Yes, I do... aways a nice wrap-up to a long train passing. They looked nice also.

Answer 11

Yes, it was a good place to get out of the cold weather when I worked in the yard.

Answer 12

Yes, I used to watch coal drags along the Susquehanna river in PA when I was a kid. FRED lights and a radio beacon just aren't the same. A freight train without a caboose just ain't done. All my HO scale freight trains have cabooses!