Prior to the mid-1980s, cabooses were an essential component of every North American freight train. These specialized rail cars had two main functions: they carried markers for the train’s rear end and provided office space for the train’s conductor.
Caboose Crew
In the past, a train’s crew often included up to five men—engineer, fireman, head brakeman, rear brakeman, and conductor. The conductor and rear brakeman (and occasionally a flagman) worked from the caboose.At his desk in the caboose, the conductor could complete paperwork while the train was in motion. Assisted by the rear brakeman, the conductor would also monitor his train for mechanical issues as it moved along the route.
The rear brakeman’s primary responsibility was to protected his train from rear end collisions. This was done by placing fusees, lanterns, or flags behind the train when it made stops. He also assisted in switching operations when necessary.
Getting Out of Town
An excerpt from Railroading From the Rear End:
At the end of every one of the thousand freight trains that every hour begin to roll down the steel rails of America is a “little shanty,” the caboose.
The big steam or diesel freight engine on the head end provides the power to start these trains, but it is the conductor who waves the highball, the signal to go. His hand goes up, or there is the bright gleam of his electric lantern doing it’s little dance in the dark, and fifty, a hundred, a hundred and fifty cars away the locomotive shouts twice. The driving wheels begin to creep, the slack runs out, and the caboose moves forward with a jerk. Another freight train is “getting out of town.”
Farrington, S. K., Jr. (1946). Railroading from the rear end (1st ed.). Coward McCann.
End of the Line
Advancements in technology have rendered cabooses obsolete. Today’s trains only require a crew of two people—an engineer and a conductor. Mechanical defect are monitored by trackside defect detectors, conductors handle their paperwork in the engine cab, switches can be thrown by remote control, and train positions are monitored electronically by dispatchers. The remaining duties of a caboose are handled by a FRED ( Flashing-Rear-End-Device) or ETD ( End-of-Train-Device ). These small metal boxes are mounted to the rear coupler of a train’s last car. The FRED assists with braking, uses a flashing light to alert following trains, and monitors for accidental car separation. The information collected by the FRED is transmitted to a display system in the locomotive for the engineer to see. This computer system is sometimes referred to as ‘Willma’ by railroaders.