# Caboose



## BK R (Dec 8, 2012)

Is there a "front and back?" ie. does the chimney go to the front (so the smoke goes over the top), if it's at the rear there will be a vacuum behind the structure.
Or doesn't it matter. :dunno:


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

BK R said:


> Is there a "front and back?" ie. does the chimney go to the front (so the smoke goes over the top), if it's at the rear there will be a vacuum behind the structure.
> Or doesn't it matter. :dunno:


I found this quoted,

The position of the cupola varied. In most eastern railroad cabooses, the cupola was in the center of the car, but most western railroads preferred to put it toward the end of the car. Some conductors preferred to have the cupola toward the front, others liked it toward the rear of the train, and some just did not care. ATSF conductors could refuse to be assigned to a train if they did not have their cabooses turned to face the way they preferred. However, this would be a rare union agreement clause that could be used, but was not a regular issue.

Did you know?


The invention of the cupola caboose is generally attributed to T. B. Watson, in 1898 he wrote,

During the 1860's I was a conductor on the C&NW. One day late in the summer of 1863 I received orders to give my caboose to the conductor of a construction train and take an empty boxcar to use as a caboose. This car happened to have a hole in the roof about two feet square. I stacked the lamp and tool boxes under the perforation end and sat with my head and shoulders above the roof ... (Later) I suggested putting a box around the hole with glass in, so I could have a pilot house to sit in and watch the train.


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## ktcards (Sep 22, 2012)

BK R said:


> Is there a "front and back?" ie. does the chimney go to the front (so the smoke goes over the top), if it's at the rear there will be a vacuum behind the structure.
> Or doesn't it matter. :dunno:


Actually it depended on how the caboose was built. They had a front and a back door, The back door opening into a kind of storage room.

K


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## BK R (Dec 8, 2012)

Thanks mate, interesting story about how it came about too.:appl:


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

ktcards said:


> Actually it depended on how the caboose was built. They had a front and a back door, The back door opening into a kind of storage room.
> 
> K



I don't think that effected which way they ran them.
Here is the caboose I found in upstate NY.

It is parked with the "storage room" facing towards the front of the train, the other end is against the bumper. Note that the stove is closer to the "storage room" side.


















Shot from the bumper side looking towards what would be the front because of the way it is parked, looking to the "storage room".










This shot is looking from what would be the front through the "storage room" towards the bumper side.









Notice the foot rests. 
I don't think it really mattered. :smokin:


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## eljefe (Jun 11, 2011)

I arrange my cabooses so the smokestack is behind the cupola as the train moves forward. Seems like the crew wouldn't like the smoke blowing right in their faces if it were the other way around.


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## wsorfan4003 (Jan 14, 2013)

I put mine so the long end is facing the front


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## cv_acr (Oct 28, 2011)

I don't pay any mind to which end is forward because generally real railroads did not either.

In terms of smoke stacks, you'll note they are taller than the cupolas, and some cabooses even had double stoves, so smoke stacks at both ends.

http://freight.railfan.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=cn78110&o=cn

Which end is which really only matters for maintenance and servicing.


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## spoil9 (Dec 24, 2008)

Just to throw this in the mix, I have seen some pictures of cabeese where one end was labeled "A" and the other end labeled "B". Not sure if that really makes a difference in how the caboose got used. Maybe that was more of a maintenance thing for record keeping?

For you're model RR, unless you are going to ultra-realism, I wouldn't worry about it and just enjoy having the caboose at the end of the train.


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## wsorfan4003 (Jan 14, 2013)

cv_acr said:


> I don't pay any mind to which end is forward because generally real railroads did not either.


For me it's more of an OCD thing! 






spoil9 said:


> Just to throw this in the mix, I have seen some pictures of cabeese where one end was labeled "A" and the other end labeled "B". Not sure if that really makes a difference in how the caboose got used. Maybe that was more of a maintenance thing for record keeping?


Cabeese!!? I like that!! You get word of the day! 

Sent from my LG-LS840 using Tapatalk 2


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## eljefe (Jun 11, 2011)

cv_acr said:


> In terms of smoke stacks, you'll note they are taller than the cupolas, ...


That seems rather rare. Of my 13 cabooses with cupolas, only 2 have a taller smokestack.


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## Southern (Nov 17, 2008)

Most of the time I run point to point. I do not turn the cabooses, So I guess that half the time I run them backwards.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

spoil9 said:


> Just to throw this in the mix, I have seen some pictures of cabeese where one end was labeled "A" and the other end labeled "B".



Cabeese is a flock of cabooses. More then one.
One caboose is a caboose.


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

Southern said:


> Most of the time I run point to point. I do not turn the cabooses, So I guess that half the time I run them backwards.


many lines ran point to point also, i doubt they bothered turning stuff around. didn't even run loco to front for return trip from what i see


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## dave1905 (Jul 7, 2013)

big ed said:


> I don't think that effected which way they ran them.
> Here is the caboose I found in upstate NY.
> 
> It is parked with the "storage room" facing towards the front of the train, the other end is against the bumper. Note that the stove is closer to the "storage room" side.


One thing you have to remember is that that is a "gutted" caboose that has had most on the interior furnishings removed. When built there was no "storage room". It had bunks, benches, tables and chairs in it.

A common arrangement was to have desk on each end facing the end of the car with a captains chair facing the end. Behind that was a bench that served as a bunk. One end might have had an upper bunk that folded up against the bulkhead. In the center on both sides would have been a chair in the bay window that could be changed to face either direction. Opposite the bunk on one end was the heater and on the other end was a water tank and water cooler.

Cabooses do not have a front or rear. They can function equally well operating in either direction.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Good thing that diesel engines are marked "F" so the engineer would know which end was the front. Otherwise he wouldn't know if he was coming or going. Pete


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## ktcards (Sep 22, 2012)

norgale said:


> Good thing that diesel engines are marked "F" so the engineer would know which end was the front. Otherwise he wouldn't know if he was coming or going. Pete


When I was a kid my dad took me for a ride on a diesel several times and it didn't seem to matter where the front was. After one ride facing the rear the engineer apologized and said if he knew I was coming along for the ride he would have driven it from the other end so I could see where we were going.

K


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