Editing Caboose (section)

{{Short description|Crew car on the end of trains}}
{{About|a car used in North America|the United Kingdom equivalent|brake van|other uses}}
[[File:BN caboose, Eola Yard, 1993.jpg|thumb|A [[Burlington Northern Railroad|Burlington Northern]] extended-vision caboose at the end of a train in 1993]]
[[File:Caboose_in_San_Diego.jpg|thumb|An ex–[[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe Railway]] caboose used by [[BNSF Railway]] as a switching platform]]

A '''caboose''' is a crewed North American [[railroad car]] coupled at the end of a [[freight train]]. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in [[railway switch|switching]] and [[Shunting (rail)|shunting]]; as well as in keeping a lookout for [[load shifting]], damage to equipment and cargo, and [[hot box|overheating axles]].

Originally [[flatcar]]s fitted with [[Brakeman's cabin|cabins]] or modified [[box car]]s, they later became purpose-built, with [[bay window]]s above or to the sides of the car to allow crew to observe the train. The caboose also served as the [[conductor (transportation)|conductor's]] office, and on long routes, included sleeping accommodations and cooking facilities.<ref name=wvgbtcbs>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kaFfAAAAIBAJ&pg=3568%2C5193248 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=(Los Angeles Times) |last=Dean |first=Paul |title=Wave good-bye to the caboose |page=2A |date=1983-03-31 |access-date=2019-05-04}}</ref>

A similar railroad car, the [[brake van]], was used on British and Commonwealth railways outside North America (the role has since been replaced by the [[crew car]] in Australia). On trains not fitted with [[Railway brake#Continuous brakes|continuous brakes]], brake vans provided a supplementary braking system, and they helped keep [[Buffers and chain coupler|chain couplings]] taut.

Cabooses were used on every freight train in the United States and Canada until the 1980s,<ref name=wvgbtcbs/> when safety laws requiring the presence of cabooses and full crews were relaxed. A major purpose of the caboose was for observing problems at the rear of the train before they caused trouble. Lineside [[defect detectors]] and [[end-of-train device]]s eliminated much of this need. Older freight cars had [[plain bearings]] with [[hot box]]es for crews to spot overheating – as freight cars replaced these with [[roller bearing]]s, there was also less need for cabooses to monitor them. Nowadays, they are generally only used on rail maintenance or hazardous materials trains, as a platform for crew on industrial [[spur line]]s when it is required to make long reverse movements, or on [[Heritage railway|heritage and tourist railroads]].