The caboose is obsolete

Ruth n Jersey said:
Yes,I did that also and to the engineer as well. They all returned my wave. I also put pennies on the track. If my mother had known she would have had a fit.
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We weren’t the brightest kids. A kid in the neighborhood lost a leg trying to jump on a slow moving train. He was 12 or 13.
 

The "length" of freight trains has substantially increased in recent years. In our area, it is not uncommon to see a train with two, or three, engines at the front, and a "pusher" engine at the rear....where a caboose used to be. Awhile back, I took note of such a train running parallel to the road we were on, and it stretched for slightly over a mile.
 
Don M. said:
The "length" of freight trains has substantially increased in recent years. In our area, it is not uncommon to see a train with two, or three, engines at the front, and a "pusher" engine at the rear....where a caboose used to be. Awhile back, I took note of such a train running parallel to the road we were on, and it stretched for slightly over a mile.
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Yes, Don, I've noticed in my travels the trains in the west, especially, are loooonnnnggg. I guess you can really build up some momentum over those "wide open spaces." =)
 
The caboose has been replaced by the End Of Train (EOT) Signal.
eot-device.jpg
 
There is a train museum not far from where we live. I once toured the museum, which included a few different types of engines, different types of cars and even a caboose.

Inside the caboose was an iron pot belly stove a small bed and some utilities, like a few pots. I wondered what it was like to be a conductor back in those days and being able to ride the rails. It had to be an interesting life.
 
Inside the caboose was an iron pot belly stove a small bed and some utilities, like a few pots. I wondered what it was like to be a conductor back in those days and being able to ride the rails. It had to be an interesting life.
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My maternal grandfather worked the railroad during the depression. I have some of his memorabilia, like his rail-road issued straight-edged razor. Unfortunately he passed away before I was born but I grew up with my mom’s stories and pictures and I guess that’s the foundation of my enjoyment of railroads. As you say, it was an interesting life and a good job to have during the depression
 
I always liked the Conductor’s watches. In the museum that I went to, there was a collection of Conductor’s watches. What I wouldn’t have given to own one.

Railways were most important in their early days. It finally connected the East with the West. Mail, packages, cattle, oil, everything important to life moved by the rails. I sometimes go on YouTube and enjoy watching some of the railroad videos.

I still remember my first train ride. What a great experience. Exciting for a little boy.
 
CinnamonSugar said:
Inside the caboose was an iron pot belly stove a small bed and some utilities, like a few pots. I wondered what it was like to be a conductor back in those days and being able to ride the rails. It had to be an interesting life.
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My maternal grandfather worked the railroad during the depression. I have some of his memorabilia, like his rail-road issued straight-edged razor. Unfortunately he passed away before I was born but I grew up with my mom’s stories and pictures and I guess that’s the foundation of my enjoyment of railroads. As you say, it was an interesting life and a good job to have during the depression
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Do you know what job he did? I spoke to an old Engineer at the museum. He worked for the old B&O before it was sold. Then, he went to work for the Pennsylvania RR. He said that being an Engineer today is not all that much difference from back when he worked for the RR. I would imagine that once the old steamers were retired and the switch was made to coal and then diesel/electric, a lot of different training was required. The love of railroads is second to my love of planes for transportation.

What a great life that would have been. Almost as great as being a pilot.
 
oldman said:
My maternal grandfather worked the railroad during the depression.

Oldman asked: Do you know what job he did?

CinnSug replied: I'm not sure. I seem to remember the term Signalman coming up but I'm not sure that isn't just my imagination after all these years lol. I expect he had a variety of jobs but he wasn't an engineer.
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The cabooses had oil pots, tools for repairing the track, coffee pot (and a bottle for cold weather) odds and ends, anything they thought they
may need, a gossip center, a place to hide....it was a part of the train; I bet they miss it.
 
I haven't been on a train in years......The last time was maybe 12 years ago, we went on a train to NYC....Before that, I never took a train anywhere...
When I was a kid, we had to walk to school and over a train track....Sometimes we would get stuck standing to wait for the train to move...
There was no other way to get to school...The Train track was through the whole city.....If we were late, the Principal was very nice about it..
There were many kiddies walking on the other side of the Train Track....That train track is still there....
 
I’m a railfan and I scan rail frequencies. I enjoy the local shortlines. The local guys are pretty chatty, and there’s still plenty of switching that’s done manually. There are cabooses used in some Christmas runs each year. My granddad was an engineer for fifty years. I rode many a mile when I was a kid.
 


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