What's the purpose of a caboose?

Question

Do trains still have them? What are they used for? Please include links.

Answer 1

The old trains were mostly freight and the caboose carried the brakemen and the man in charge of the whole train---the conductor. The engineer strictly drives the locomotive...up front. The caboose was constructed so that the conductor could see what was going on ---he sat up high and watched over everything. The caboose offered a warm place to do this work and also accomodations were available for sleeping and cooking. The crew all appreciated that!!

Answer 2

To make sure ALL the signals @ track switches go smoothly @ according 2 plan....SIMPLE, I lived next 2 a R,R. track 4 50 years @ I am positive of this !!!!!!!!!!!!!My dream job was 2 b a :cabooseman ALL my life!!!!!! Still is as a matter of fact !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

Mike asks the best questions. Questions that best answerers can't answer (cause they just copy paste)... Hahaha...

Answer 4

Back when train crews included brakemen as well as conductors, the way car or caboose was their station and it served as a means of protection for the train.  Instead of a end of train device, you had acutal people who inspected the train on curves, reported defects when spotted and assisted with rear protection, flagging , lining switches and breaking the train or making a joint.   This ended in 1986.  That is the last time I saw a caboose - on the Southern Pacific in Austin Texas.  It served as a rolling dormatory, and an office for the conductor.

Answer 5

Nowadays, the only purpose for a caboose on freight railroads is for, as already stated, long shove moves so the conductor and/or brakeman don't have to ride hanging from the ladder's on the side's of the cars. That becomes very tiresome after a while and can be quite dangerous. The E.O.T. or End of Train Device replaced the caboose. It's linked up to the H.O.T. or Head End of Train in the lead locomotive and shows how much air the train has for its brakes from the head end to the rear. These things can be a pain in the ***, especially on long trains where sometimes the E.O.T. and the H.O.T. won't link up or unlink enroute because they're so far away from each other. When that happens, the conductor has to walk all the way to the rear of the train and reset it. If it doesn't link up, he stays and continues to reset it until they link up. If they can't get it to link up and there is no way to fix the problem, then your train is restricted to a maximum of 30 mph for the remainder of your trip. At least, that's the speed on Norfolk Southern. Both the caboose and EOT have their advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 6

ca·boose    (k-bs) KEY  

NOUN:

The last car on a freight train, having kitchen and sleeping facilities for the train crew.

Answer 7

Cabooses were necessary for several reasons. In the days before "million mile" wheel bearings, rail cars had the old style friction bearings, something like a crankshaft bearing. No other bearing up til that time could withstand the pressures. The friction bearings had to be re-lubed on occasion. The only time you knew it was time to lube them is when they started smoking. The conductor and brakeman in the caboose watched for hot bearings. Also, before electric mainline switches, if a train was instructed to leave the mainline on to a siding to let another train pass, someone had to be back there to line the switch back for the mainline. Last, a train cannot back up unless there is someone back there acting as the eyes of the engineer. But all those issues have been solved now, and there's no need for a caboose. Hoghead is right, they were a pain. Reversing direction of your train could take an extra 30 minutes just to get the caboose on the rear again. I work for a 130 mile short line and we still have one, but we never use it.

Answer 8

Mike,

The caboose is still in use but for rare purposes like back-up moves on freight trains and on a number of tourist lines/excursion trains.  The main purpose of the car was to house the conductor, specifically, and other staff like the brakeman (whose job in later years after the airbrake was invented [and he was no longer needed to brake the train manually] was to keep a watchful eye on the rear end of the train for both derailments as well as guard it from rear-end collisions [before the days of radio]).

Today, at least for the car's main purpose, the caboose has been abolished (in it's place a FRED [Flashing Rear End Device] is now attached to the last car which, among other things, monitors the train's airbrakes electronically to make sure that the air pressure is sufficient [all of this information is sent ahead to the lead locomotive]) with the conductor moving to the cab of the locomotive and the brakeman's position mostly eliminated.

Answer 9

A caboose was a car used for a resting and eating area.  On long trips a train had two conductors.  While one was running the train the other could sleep and eat.  It was the last car on a train because of the loud sound of the engine and the windows could be opened on warm days without smoke coming through them.

Answer 10

Alco83 nailed it on the head. He has the correct answer. I still wish they used cabooses, it always gave little ones something to look forward to when one was stuck in the heat waiting on a LONG train to pass.

Answer 11

well, something has to be at the end of the train...

Answer 12

On occasion, it served as entertainment for the engineer...

The rest of the time, it was a pain in the butt.

Answer 13

Th;e caboose is a relaxing car for the conductor and off

duty engineers.