Editing Caboose (section)

==Types==
[[File:Cupola caboose.jpg|thumb|A [[Milwaukee Road]] cupola caboose at the US [[National Railroad Museum]]]]

The form of cabooses varied over the years, with changes made both to reflect differences in service and improvements in design. The most commonly seen types are:

===Cupola or "standard"===
The most common caboose form in American railroad practice has a small windowed projection on the roof, called the [[cupola]]. The crew sat in elevated seats to inspect the train from this perch.

The invention of the cupola caboose is generally attributed to T. B. Watson, a freight [[Conductor (transportation)|conductor]] on the [[Chicago and North Western Railway]]. In 1898, he wrote:

{{Quote|During the '60s 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&nbsp;... (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.}}

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 still others had no preference. ATSF conductors could refuse to be assigned to a train if they did not have their cabooses turned to face the way they preferred. This would be a rare union agreement clause that could be used however it was not a regular issue.

The classic idea of the "little red caboose" at the end of every train came about when cabooses were painted a reddish brown; however, some railroads (Union Pacific and Nickel Plate Road, for example) painted their cabooses yellow or red and white. The most notable was the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe]] which in the 1960s started a rebuild program for their cabooses in which the cars were painted bright red, with an eight-foot-diameter Santa Fe cross herald emblazoned on each side in yellow. Some railroads, chiefly the [[Wabash Railway]], [[Pennsylvania Railroad]], [[Norfolk and Western]] and [[Illinois Central Gulf]], also built or upgraded cabooses with streamlined cupolas for better aerodynamics and to project a more modern image.

<gallery mode=packed heights="200px">
File:Cupola on Caboose.jpg|The cupola section (vertical projection with window) on a restored caboose on exhibit at the Toronto Railway Museum
File:CabooseInteriorSRM.jpg|Seating area in a cupola caboose
</gallery>

===Bay window===
[[File:Bay window caboose CNW 10304.jpg|thumb|left|A former [[Chicago & Northwestern Railway]] bay window caboose at the [[Illinois Railway Museum]]]]

In a bay window caboose, the crew monitoring the train sits in the middle of the car in a section of wall that projects from the side of the caboose. The windows set into these extended walls resemble architectural [[bay window]]s, so the caboose type is called a bay window caboose. This type afforded a better view of the side of the train and eliminated the falling hazard of the cupola.{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}} It is thought to have first been used on the [[Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad]] in 1923, but is particularly associated with the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]], which built all of its cabooses in this design starting from an experimental model in 1930. The bay window gained favor with many railroads because it eliminated the need for additional clearances in tunnels and overpasses.

On the West Coast, the [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad|Milwaukee Road]] and the [[Northern Pacific Railway]] used these cars, converting over 900 roof top cabooses to bay windows in the late 1930s.<ref>{{cite magazine |url={{google books|id=79oDAAAAMBAJ|page=185|plain-url=yes}} |title=Caboose Gets A Bay Window In Place Of Familiar Cupola |magazine=[[Popular Mechanics]] |date=August 1937 |publisher=Hearst Magazines |access-date=2017-08-22}}</ref> Milwaukee Road rib-side bay window cabooses are preserved at [[New Lisbon, Wisconsin]], the [[Illinois Railway Museum]], the [[Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad]] and [[Cedarburg, Wisconsin]], among other places.

The [[Western Pacific Railroad]] was an early adopter of the type, building their own bay window cars starting in 1942 and acquiring this style exclusively from then on. Many other roads operated this type, including the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]], [[St. Louis – San Francisco Railway]], [[Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad]], [[Kansas City Southern Railway]], the [[Southern Railway (US)|Southern Railway]], and the [[New York Central Railroad]].

In the UK, brake vans are usually of this basic design: the bay window is known as a lookout or ducket.

===Extended-vision===
[[File:Caboose.JPG|thumb|An extended-vision caboose on static display in [[O'Fallon, Illinois]]]]

In the extended-vision or wide-vision caboose, the sides of the cupola project beyond the side of the car body. [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad|Rock Island]] created some of these by rebuilding some standard cupola cabooses with windowed extensions applied to the sides of the cupola itself, but by far, the greatest number have the entire cupola compartment enlarged. This model was introduced by the [[International Car Company]] and saw service on most U.S. railroads. The expanded cupola allowed the crew to see past the top of the taller cars that began to appear after [[World War II]], and also increased the roominess of the cupola area.

Additionally, [[Monon Railroad]] had a unique change to the extended-vision cabooses. They added a miniature bay to the sides of the cupola to enhance the views further. This created a unique look for their small fleet. Seven of the eight Monon-built cabooses have been saved. One was scrapped after an accident in Kentucky. The surviving cars are at the [[Indiana Transportation Museum]] (operational), the [[Indiana Railway Museum]] (operational), the [[Kentucky Railway Museum]] (fire damaged), and the [[Bluegrass Railroad Museum]] (unrestored but serviceable). The remaining three are in private collections.

===Transfer===
[[File:CR 18065 IN Porter.jpg|thumb|A [[Conrail]] transfer caboose]]

A transfer caboose looks more like a [[flat car]] with a shed bolted to the middle of it than like a standard caboose. It is used in transfer service between [[rail yard]]s or short switching runs, and as such, lacks sleeping, cooking or restroom facilities. The ends of a transfer caboose are left open, with safety railings surrounding the area between the crew compartment and the end of the car.

A recent variation on the transfer caboose is the "pushing" or "shoving" platform. It can be any railcar where a [[brakeman]] can safely ride for some distance to help the engineer with visibility at the other end of the train. [[Flatcar]]s and [[covered hopper]]s have been used for this purpose, but often the pushing platform is a caboose that has had its windows covered and welded shut and permanently locked doors. [[CSX Transportation|CSX]] uses former Louisville & Nashville short bay window cabooses and former Conrail waycars as pushing platforms.
Transfer cabooses are not to be confused with [[Missouri Pacific Railroad]] cabooses, as their cabooses were fully functional.

===Drover's===
[[File:DRG bobber caboose at CRM.jpg|thumb|A two-axled "bobber" cupola caboose at the [[Colorado Railroad Museum]], known for the uneven ride its lack of [[Bogie|trucks]] created]]

Drover's cabooses looked more like [[combine car]]s than standard cabooses. The purpose of a drover's caboose was much more like a combine, as well. On longer [[livestock]] trains in the American West, the drover's caboose is where the livestock's handlers would ride between the [[ranch]] and processing plant. The train crew rode in the caboose section while the livestock handlers rode in the [[Coach (rail)|coach]] section. Drover's cabooses used either cupolas or bay windows in the caboose section for the train crew to monitor the train. The use of drover's cars on the [[Northern Pacific Railway]], for example, lasted until the [[Burlington Northern Railroad]] merger of 1970. They were often found on stock trains originating in [[Montana]].