2006-12-14 01:22:33 · 5 answers · asked by hdavehd 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Other - Cars & Transportation
It was the car where the brake man and fireman rode around. It was so they could keep a better eye on the train. Now that there are electronic sensors in trains, all of this information can be seen up in the engine, and having a person at the back of the train isn't needed anymore.
2006-12-14 01:29:03 · answer #1 · answered by sethle99 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What the above posters said. The caboose was the train's mobile office, bunk and breakroom. The conductor and brakeman could sit in the upper windows and watch the train for derailed wheels, hot bearings, damaged track, damaged cars, debris, etc. The brakeman would wave a lantern or a flag at the engineer to signal a problem. The conductor filled out reports, freight orders, etc. at the desk in the caboose. There was usually a small stove for making coffee or a snack.
The railroads realized that the caboose was not needed back in the early 1990s. At that point, the automatic equipment had replaced the conductor's job. A laptop and radio replaced all the paperwork. The trains were wasting fuel hauling the caboose on the back of the train. The railroad companies were spending money maintaining cabooses they didn't need. The last time I saw a caboose, it was on a Illinois Central freight coming out of New Orleans, in about 1992. Then they just disappeared.
The caboose was replaced by a FRED, Flashing Rear End Device that mounts to the coupler of the last freight car. It blinks a red light for a visible signal, while it silently monitors radio signals from track equipment, airbrake gauges and bearing monitors.
2006-12-14 20:34:36 · answer #2 · answered by electron670 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The caboose was the car that the conductor used as an office and sometimes as living quarters for the crew on cross-country trips. It was also used to monitor the condition of the train and to control the braking. High tech electronics that monitor the braking and conditon of the train made the caboose obsolete.
2006-12-14 09:49:40 · answer #3 · answered by Joe K 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The caboose also was used for the brakeman to get in and out during the dropping off of railcars and to switch the tracks back after passing the shuntline..this too is switched automatically now from a panel and traffic control systems at a base.
2006-12-14 09:31:45 · answer #4 · answered by colinhughes333 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yup, what they said
2006-12-14 09:51:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋