As I am new, I will probably catch it for this post for being stupid; On my last MetroLink ride to Busch Stadium we passed St.Louis switchyard at Union Station, being rotated onto the traffic flow for the Macarthur bridge was a UP set of ethanol tank cars( by quick assessment 50-70 cars) with a SP caboose, was this a fluke? They had two men in the caboose standing on the rear platform. That was on 07/03/08 Dave
Welcome to TrainBoard, Dave! No stupid questions here, don't worry. While cabooses are normally not used on freights these days, they are still found on occasional trains, especially where long shoving moves are required. But they are rare enough that you'll learn to always carry a camera with you! Best regards Ed
Dave, All the major railroads, in fact almost ALL railroads, still roster cabooses, sometimes called shoving platforms. There are enough special circumstances that require additional crewmembers or additional protection that warrant the use of a caboose. Special moves that would require a caboose vary from RR to RR but may (or may not) include special contract shipments, high/wide shipments, military shipments, key trains, cask trains, test trains, trains with long shoving moves, and any other trains with special circumstances that may require additional crewmembers that can't fit into the 3 seats in the locomotive cab. Then again, it could have been a fluke.:tb-cool: Dave
There are a couple SP cabeese kicking around Roseville and Colfax,CA. Got to see one used on a special move just a couple weeks ago.
About the only type of train I see any more with cabeese are the locals. the thru freight traffic have been using "FREDS" in the Los Angeles area.
Theres a BN caboose that frequents Corona and a SF that usually hangs out around the Highway 18 cutoff from the 15 freeway, on the east side near the station and fuel dealer.
There's an SP caboose frequently on a UP line that goes by the glass recycling plant in NE Portland. It appears to be there to head up a long shove maneuver. Adam
