The Real Reason You Never See Cabooses On Trains Anymore

[@GrungeHQ]

Would you like to see the caboose make a comeback?

[@tobiojo6469]

Yes

[@jamesrussell6123]

I would

[@rodneykantorski736]

Definitely NOT.

[@Boxingbear]

Yes

[@danielhutchinson6604]

The Citizens of East Palestine Ohio probably would have enjoyed a crew on the rear of the train that was dragging a defective Wheel Bearing that was visibly on fire for at least 10 miles before it failed in their town. The cutbacks in rail services since 1967 when Mail was removed from the rails and delivered by trucks, are apparently designed to burn fuel in Trucks, not in the more effective Trains that used to provide both transit services to Citizens who can not afford Cars. The effect of reducing Crew size to 2 Person crews on head end , as well as reducing the number of Operating Employees by operating big Trains with more cargo, appears intended to deliver more dividends to Stockholders. While apparently the Rich get richer, the Nation becomes a poorly served place as Small Towns are erased. Towns like the one in Ohio that was evacuated, may have a few more Breadwinners as Employees who are capable of being Consumers are reduced, to support Stockholder Profits. It appears painfully obvious who dictates Policy in the USA. It is not the average Citizen.

[@momandnate]

I've always thought that a train without a caboose is like a sentence without punctuation.The caboose signaled the end of the train.

[@bigfootwalker5399]

Why do you think that

[@jasonervoes1326]

I still see the caboose at the end of freight trains just at the state borders for long hauls. Other places they use a caboose once in a blue moon not too often. The deliveries they make are local runs. That's probably why. I talked to Jim Openshaw. He's a licensed railroad engineer in the state of Delaware. He goes from Delaware to North Carolina and back overnight. They're long hauls.

[@southerncoloradorailfannin4027]

That's why trains have locomotives at the end or a FRED

[@diannebates2157]

What should have been added is where are these cabooses now? Go the Strasburg, PA to the train ride there. Down the road from the station (and you pass it on the ride) is the Caboose Motel. Yes, all cabooses are individual motel rooms. Old dinning cars are hooked together to form the restaurant and old freight cars are the office and gift shop.

[@noirhorror197]

When I lived in Denver I went to a restaurant called The spaghetti factory. They had the dining cars all hook together but it was inside of a building. I think they had 101 spaghetti dishes. Don't know if it's still there was great fun.

[@mumbles215]

We had one here in Philly too. Was in an old terminal. Now it’s a concert venue.

[@SantaFe19484]

I have been to that place many times before!

[@2oldfashgrl]

@@mumbles215 There's one in the Ogden Union Station train museum, too!

[@dagforster7627]

When I used to hop freight trains in the late 80s-early 90s there were still a caboose or two sometimes. They were the most comfortable cars to ride in if they had beds.

[@tobiojo6469]

I liked trains when I was younger and I still love them as an adult, the Caboose needs to come back.

[@russvoight1167]

I get your sentiment, but they are a thing of the past except for some local freight switching

[@michaelhues6408]

Take a trip north of Caperol, Ontario, Canada and you'll see what happened to the redundant Caboose Units. CN employees made cabins and hunting camps out of them. You can see them right from the tracks if you roll by on a passenger train. Sometimes the train wheels and trucks are removed and sometimes they build a little piece of track and set the newly retired Caboose on it's on private rails :)

[@James_Knott]

I used to work for CN and back in the mid 70s was based in Capreol. I often rode freights back then and recall some CN employees arranging to have a caboose (van as the crews called them) spotted in the middle of nowhere to use for hunting or fishing.

[@rayspeerly3049]

Most of the information given here is wrong, The caboose was mainly used for watching the train for problems. Hot boxes, open doors, and people trying to get on freight cars. When radios came into use you could see the change in crew numbers going down. Train lengths were changed and now we are seeing more derailments and major problems on long-haul trains.

[@James_Knott]

Years ago, I was a telecommunications tech for Canadian National and when I worked in Northern Ontario, in the mid 70s, frequently rode freights. While I was more likely riding in the engine, I certainly was in the caboose on many trips. Incidentally, one of the systems I worked on back then reduced the paperwork for the conductor.

[@michaelhorn4540]

We had apple trees in our backyard when I was a boy, and the train ran right behind my house. Me and my friends would try to throw apples into the caboose through the open back door

[@Pauley_in_GP]

Good video. Nice overview. I'm a big rail fan. And several cabooses follow trains around my model layouts. They are certainly an important part of train history. You can call me Debbie Downer, but let's be real. Having visited a number of cabooses, I'd bet the nostalgia and romanticism would drop for anyone who actually spent time working in one day and night. From what I've seen, they were about as comfortable and appealing as a stagecoach or prison cell. 😉 Freight cars have become much larger, and trains are much longer these days. A cupola would no longer afford any useful visibility on a miles-long train. Plus, trying to keep one on the rear of a train would create real challenges during switching operations (i.e., dropping off the rear-most cars along the way). Maybe I'm off base. Perhaps some folks are thinking that trains should just drag them along for cuteness. 😍 But if you enjoy seeing them, it's time to get into the model train hobby and do it yourself. Or find a real one for sale (they are not very expensive) and have an instant hobby room.

[@richardheidrick4916]

I had 43 years , retired in2000 aug. the death warrant for cabooses was radios.

[@noirhorror197]

As children in the 60s it was great fun to wave at the caboose guy.

[@jeffchandler6285]

A case could be made for caboose, when rail sensors are too spread out to ensure train safety, ie: East Palestine derailment a manned caboose whose whole job is to make sure things haven't gone sideways/stop train with issues before things get terrible

[@eugenetswong]

I agree. There must be some uses. I imagine that it would save time to just have the train go backwards for a while with a caboose leading the way instead of sending the engine down a Y-shaped track. This is probably more useful for shortline railways. I also imagine that new shortlines starting up would need to try using more manual labour and shorter height cars instead of high priced equipment, so maybe there is an opportunity there.

[@theisraelilocomotive70414]

"It would be more romantic, it helps with the nostalgia, its nice for the railfans" I'm sorry to say, but despite being a railfan, I can also see the business argument of things. Why would a railroad *willingly* maintain a piece of rolling stock that only wastes money? Railfans don't pay tickets to watch a train or to ride in a crew only railcar. In some circumstances such as switching operation or on heritage railroads, they can and do still work as either "Shoving Platforms" or as tourist equipment, but for main line service it's just money being burned for no good reason. They'd be a cool addition to see come back, but it's unlikely that there's enough reason for it.

[@leonacardenas5552]

I miss seeing the caboose. As a kids the man would wave to people waiting for the train to pass. We were always waiting to wave back. 👋👋

[@roachtoasties]

An un-manned caboose, as you mentioned at the end of the video, shouldn't be widespread for nostalgia's sake. Empty cabooses would still need to be maintained. Added energy costs too, for adding a train car that's just there as a decoration.

[@Boxingbear]

I haven't seen one in a long time. But I can remember seeing them the odd time right up into the 1990s. And I've been told that the freight trains that run in Northern Canada have cabooses because the crews live on them and use then as living quarters.

[@James_Knott]

I don't know how northern you're referring to, but I used to work for Canadian National and was based in Northern Ontario in the mid 70s. Back in those days, there were bunk houses for the train crew or, in some places, the YMCA. In other towns, CN would contract with a hotel or motel. On one occasion, I stayed in the Y in Hornepayne. I also stayed in the former officer's quarters, in a shut down radar station in Armstrong. The only track north of the CN tracks I worked along was the Ontario Northland, which ran up to Moosonee. However, there were tracks further north in the western provinces.

[@eugenetswong]

In Greater Vancouver, there is still a short line that seems to use them a few times per year.

[@arnoldalt2571]

Have you ever heard of "hot boxes"? The body of caboose is offset for a reason. Early trains lubed wheel bearings with oil soaked rags in a box just above each axle. If one of the boxes got low on oil it would start to smoke and could be seen from the offset part of the caboose when the train was rounding a curve. When the axles where fitted with prepacked roller bearings that job was no longer needed. It is possible to find vintage rail cars that still have the boxes but have refitted with roller bearings. The lids have been removed. We have one in our town. Have a good one.

[@James_Knott]

I remember those converted axles. However, those old journal bearings have been illegal for many years.

[@robertlivingston1634]

In the late 80s I was offered a job on the railroad as a break man, I turned it down because one of the stipulations was you had to be within 15 minutes of a phone for call outs. A year later all the guys that accepted got a 70 thousand dollar severance, damn that would have been life changing at the time. But still don't regret my decision.

[@James_Knott]

-break- brake man

[@robertlivingston1634]

@@James_Knott absolutely right

[@MrDan708]

In some midwestern states, an occasional yellow-painted caboose will make an appearance, mostly on local delivery runs.

[@iclite3656]

Thanks👍. I have wondered bout that. When I was a child, we would always wave to them. 🙂

[@GoodbyeKamala2024]

A train just doesn't look complete without a caboose.

[@shugadaddy4841]

I miss seeing the caboose. As a kid it was the one thing keeping me from being bored while waiting for the train to pass

[@Andrew-fq3gm]

The Alaska Railroad still uses Cabooses. They use them on their maintenance of way trains.

[@549BR]

Also, with the double stack rail cars, the conductor or brakeman's line of sight from the caboose was about fifty feet; totally obstructed.

[@Greatdome99]

Bay window cabooses are not so affected. Many RRs like SP, WP and NYC operated those.

[@James_Knott]

On one occasion, while in the middle of nowhere in Northern Ontario, I had an excellent view of the Northern Lights, while riding in the cupola of a caboose.

[@jasonervoes1326]

You sê cabooses at the state borders for long hauls. Other places they use a caboose once in a blue moon not too often. The deliveries they make are local runs. That's probably why.

[@opathe2nd973]

I was taught that the plural of caboose was "cabeese." I'm old enough to love the little buggers. That said Good Job!

[@James_Knott]

Actually, if you worked for a railway, at least in Canada, you'd call them a van.

[@mummyjohn]

"an under-appreciated color to life that technological advancement often bleeds out of society." Man, you NAILED it with that line. Lose the romance to a thing...eventually you gotta stop and ask, hey, what's the point in the first place?

[@RobertValinsky]

I am sure that the money that the railroads are saving when cabooses were eliminated is going into some railroad executive's wallet.

[@Coloribus2004]

I personally believe cabooses should be required on freight trains carrying hazardous, explosive or Flammable materials.

[@Talldarkhandsom]

They would be nearly useless on trains 5,000 ft and up

[@donaldfaris4798]

Cabooses are still in use they are now called shoving platform used when trains have to shove the train on the line so you have eyes on the rear of the train to watch track and railroad crossings

[@treywest268]

The EDT is also known as a Fred which is an acronym for Flashing Red Electronic Device. Because of the number of jobs that were lost due to this technological advancement, the Fred also become known as the F"*k*ng Red Electronic Device.

[@mshum538]

Flashing Rear End Device ….

[@ScottKew-g8r]

The caboose disappeared because of MONEY. Nothing to do with public or employee safety. Just plain old MONEY.

[@skibidirizzlernissan]

fun fact, at 2:41 the train in this scene is actually the very SAME locomotive which pulled Abraham lincolns funeral train in 1865 and it also pulled his inaugural train aswell. This engine is called the William Mason in honor of its builder of the same name. It was built in 1856 in Taunton Massachussets for the Baltimore and ohio railroad, it was used extensively during the American civil war. after that it was withdrawn from service and went to many fairs in the late 19th century to the early to mid 20th century. It was featured in many movies and TV shows.

[@skibidirizzlernissan]

I'm sorry if this was a bit to much to read

[@spongatejunction]

The same reason why you don't see guards vans on trains over here in the UK as trains are air braked these days

[@SantaFe19484]

As trains became longer, it became more dangerous for people to at the end of the train, with the potential for injury from slack action.

[@JohnWorsham-k1h]

Despite any horror stories told, I still think trains would be more complete with a caboose. Such a shame they scraped them.. is anything, they could have been converted over to rolling hotel rooms on freight as well as mixed passenger trains.

[@andre100BNSF]

At times, they will use a caboose as a shoving platform for rail crews in the event of a long distance shove. However I have seen a caboose on a very sophisticated train where they transport spent nuclear fuel.

[@_KaiTheGamer_]

I also can't help but feel like with how long trains are now, if a coupler breaks ⅔ back from the motive power, it sure would be helpful to have a dedicated car at the very back with a crew in it ready to fix that issue, than have one conductor at the very front of a mile long train lug an 80 pound hunk of metal to the 109th of 120 freight cars

[@tuvia4082]

I met a girl at a club and boy did she have a caboose. A person could actually sit their drink down on this. But I digress.

[@MartyKarczynski-mw3tk]

I miss them

[@BigUnitBeef]

Let me tell you people. Nothing in this video is factual. I am an experienced railroader. The ONLY REASON the caboose is gone is to reduce labor costs. Wayside detectors and EOT'S (end of train devices) crap out ALL THE TIME. There is no replacement for human eyes and brains. If these nitwits have there way it will be down to one guy...the engineer. As for the Trains Magazine expert, he should get out of the AAR's back pocket. 🤬

[@michaelhues6408]

It's commerce. A freight train in North America before end of train units would have an engineer and brakeman up front and a conductor and brakeman in the Caboose. Dropping the Caboose saves one persons salary every single train trip. Cabooses and my hair line are GONE for ever.

[@old_school_guy]

Job cuts and corporate greed is the reason.

[@scottburke9379]

The company didn't want to pay for brake men . Technology took their jobs .

[@henryostman5740]

Railroads are a business, they are doing it for a profit, understand that. The real issue is that today's trains have only a two man crew, engineer and conductor, they both ride in the air conditioned cab of the diesel locomotive. Compared to a caboose, locomotives ride pretty smoothly, so everybody is happy, well except for you. By the way, train crews are well paid, way better than the pilots of that reginal jet you flew in last week.

[@rayinpau.s.a.6351]

If not using cabooses any more to save a Railroad from going under . So be it !

[@tonyburzio4107]

This movie is pretty nutty. Except for being all wrong, its, well, all wrong.

[@douglasskaalrud6865]

Cabooses were a great place to sleep and relax while on duty. Quite a few railroad men mourned their passing.

[@James_Knott]

I often rode freights and tried to sleep on the bench in a caboose once. I was occasionally tossed off by the motion.

[@LearnwithJanice]

🇺🇸 hello from Kansas

[@tuffman1970]

I thought it was the end of the world as a little kid. My brother and i would guess what color it would be before the end of the train. Some were red yellow or blue.

[@theamericane2655]

THERE IS STILL ONE ON THE BNSF MORRIS SUBDIVISION THERE IS STILL A CABOOSE BEING USED ON LOCAL TRAINS!!!!!

[@bigedslobotomy]

Unfortunately an unmanned caboose today would only attract squatters and the homeless.

[@daskritterhaus5491]

"the reason" is because eventually unionboy's logic for keeping them failed

[@johnflorio3576]

Is the plural cabooses or cabeese? 😆

[@James_Knott]

Yes. 🙂

[@davidhamm7909]

The real reason I never see Cabooses on trains is because….. I live in the UK 😂

[@Dogsnark]

Cabooses will never return because there is apparently no economic reason for them. Railways are not run for romantic or nostalgia purposes.

[@tcalcut]

I thought it was because of the roller bearing

[@markwoods4439]

I love traveling on Amtrak train ❤️ To bad they can’t go over water like a plane😅😅😅

[@leppad]

So after all that, you failed to research the origin of the word “caboose”. Why call it that?

[@branttrainstation]

Their is real problem with bring Cabooses back, that problem is unless there maned, that means a person riding in them, there'll be targets for rail hoppers, just look at videos of people jumping on trains an riding them a video their ride, rail company now have to lock their unman engines to keep riders out,

[@rbfishcs123]

Jesus. 2 minutes in and you barely even scratched the surface as to why cabeese aren't used anymore. Just a whole lot of words without saying really anything meaningful. 1. Trains almost *never* use track warrant control nowadays, and those that do get their orders relayed via radio and written down by the conductor on the head end. Pre-radio era, orders were given to both conductor who sat in the caboose, and the fireman or breakmen who sat at the front of the train. The orders would tell them a lot of things, but one thing it would tell them is if they needed to reline a switch after going into or out of a siding. 2. Caboose would also make a 'complete' train, nowdays this is done by a flashing rear end device (FRED), mostly to provide full brake pipe continuity and to demonstrate that the train is in fact intact. 3. Most road trains would have an engineer and a fireman or a brakemen in the engine, and the caboose would have either a conductor or a conductor and a rear brakeman. This was mostly common during the eras where hand brakes were placed on the top of each rail car and were the main mechanism for slowing it down. An engineer would blow steam for the number of hand brakes to be applied, as well as if those brakes were needed on the head or rear end. 4. Lastly, now, there is only 2 and maybe 3 man crews depending on the train. All engines can fit 3, some of the bigger road units can squeeze 4. Source; BNSF switchman for many years

[@Greatdome99]

Most mainline trains are controlled by block signals which are either automatic, or controlled by a central dispatcher (Omaha for UP, Ft. Worth for BNSF, Jacksonville for CSX, Atlanta for NS, Calgary for CPKC.

[@Mike_Wahousekey]

I think you mean Cabeese

[@pepawg2281]

$$$$$ passenger trains don't put money in the bank!

[@garryferrington811]

Yeah, that damn regulation. If it wasn't for Congress, we could still have link-and-pin couplers! Rotten regulation. Railroads called them "hacks."

[@glynrhys68]

interested to know why you say this. what decisions do you refer to please? Was it the investment in road? "the past century has seen U.S. passenger rail go from the envy of the world to the worst among peer nations, largely on account of poor regulatory decisions made during the New Deal era. "

[@James_Knott]

Or maybe, because that was the height of the depression, railroads were going bust and couldn't afford maintenance.

[@budwhite9591]

1:08. Unified?😂😂😂😂

[@donsimpson3935]

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