Cabooses were done away with as a labour saving move. Train crews, decades ago, used to have a full five members - three in the locomotive, two in the caboose. As the crews were pared down (modern ones have two or three, depending on the assignment), a second place wasn’t needed, and now everyone rides […]
Written on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 by mackcastro :: 0 comments to this post
Cabooses were done away with as a labour saving move. Train crews, decades ago, used to have a full five members - three in the locomotive, two in the caboose. As the crews were pared down (modern ones have two or three, depending on the assignment), a second place wasn’t needed, and now everyone rides in the locomotive.
Technology also helped rid the railway of the caboose. Tail-end devices mounted on the last car monitor brake pipe air pressure, can deploy the emergency brakes from a toggle on the engineer’s control stand, and are equipped with motion detectors. The engineer’s control stand also usually has a DMD (distance measuring device), kind of like an odometer in footage, which allows them to measure distances along the way.
Wayside inspection systems have also replaced the visual inspections previously offered by crew members in the caboose. Every so often on a main line, these systems will scan the train for defects, such as hot wheels, overheated bearings, shifted loads, and dragging equipment. They broadcast their results over the main line radio channel.
Cabooses can still be seen on short lines, yard assignments, and some road switchers. However, many Class 1 (large) railways only use them as “rider cars”, meaning the doors are usually boarded or welded shut, and it’s nothing more than a fancy platform for crew members to ride on in the event the train needs to back up for an extended length.
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