Amtrak Cabooses

[KrazyKoala]

Pulling into DC from my point run today on the #125 NCR>WAS I saw four Amtrak cabooses. The first three were rather rusty or scratched but the fourth one had a very new coat of paint on it with the same color scheme as the engines do. By the time I saw them I had no time to pull out my camera and take a picture. :angry2:

What are these being used for? And does anyone have pictures of them?

 

[fairviewroad]

This site has lots of photos of Amtrak cabooses, but most of the photos are decades old and lack any context:

http://www.hebners.net/amtrak/amtCAB.html

 

[greatcats]

They would be used on Work Trains. I used to work for New Jersey Transit and we had several cabooses for that purpose. Cabooses are pretty much a thing of the past on freight trains, but I think there may be some labor agreement requiring a caboose on a Work Train.

 

[Shortline]

Now they are called "shoving platforms". Used primarily to facilitate long shoving moves like could be encountered on a work train, primarily. There are still some floating around on freight RR's for the same purpose, assigned to trains that make regular extended shoving moves.

 

[railiner]

Interesting thread!

The PRR refered to their cabooses as "cabin cars". And the first road I worked for, the CB&Q, called their's "way cars". Other roads sometimes used term "hacks", others "crummies". They're all gone with the wind, replaced for the most part by "FRED"........

 

[KrazyKoala]

whats a shoving move?

 

[railiner]

whats a shoving move?

I would guess a train moving a considerable distance in reverse, with the engine pushing, and perhaps the conductor controlling from the caboose on the end....sort of like an Amtrak conductor manning a tailhose when backing into Chicago Union Station.....

 

[KrazyKoala]

Really wish I would have got a picture in. None of those on the link are close. They were shinny silver with a bright blue Amtrak logo.

 

[ne52]

do you remember where in the yard these were? i tried looking about an hour ago on the way into dc and couldn't spot them. i'll take another look and getting a picture on the way out.

 

[KrazyKoala]

No more than 1km from the station, in the yard, there was 6-8 tracks and they were stand alone in the center of all these tracks.

 

[Long Wong]

The caboose has in fact disappeared from most freight trains but several short lines that service industries along their line still use them. There is one short line in SE PA that has to back in to several industrial yards to load and unload and a watchman in a cabboose is in back of the train guiding the process. On work trains they can be used as crew offices but the days where the conductor, brakeman and switchmen all took their positions in the caboose are gone. One of my neighbors was a conductor on a freight train and still tells of his experiences spending many a day and night sleeping in a caboose. I've seen them in museums and they are like small trailers inside.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Many cabooses (cabeese?) have made their way into private hands and are used for anything from storage to neat additional bedrooms, fishing cabins or even motel rooms. Several years ago there was a chain of Prime Beef restaurants called Victoria Station where each location was built from boxcars and cabooses. As a kid it was a fun plaace to eat, especially in the cupola if it was available.

 

[the_traveler]

Several years ago there was a chain of Prime Beef restaurants called Victoria Station where each location was built from boxcars and cabooses. As a kid it was a fun plaace to eat, especially in the cupola if it was available.

I remember Victoria Staion! (Then she got a Secret! :giggle: ) It was a great place to eat.

One of the best albums (IMO) was an LP (remember those? :blush: ) that Johnny Cash did on commission for the chain, and it was called "Destination Victoria Station"! The LP included something like 30 railroad songs, and nothing else. I have found some of these recordings on other albums, but not all of them and not all on one album.

I really wish I still had my copy of this LP!

 

[Trainmans daughter]

This site has lots of photos of Amtrak cabooses, but most of the photos are decades old and lack any context:
http://www.hebners.net/amtrak/amtCAB.html

Those are adorable! I want one.
Regarding restaurants, there was a chain of about 6 restaurants in Southern California in the '70s called "The Railroader". We used to take our boys to the Redlands location when they were really little. The waiting area was a caboose, and all the kids had a ball playing there until their tables were ready. The restaurants were refurbished lounge or coach cars. Fun place to eat!

 

[oldtimer]

Several years ago there was a chain of Prime Beef restaurants called Victoria Station where each location was built from boxcars and cabooses. As a kid it was a fun plaace to eat, especially in the cupola if it was available.

I remember Victoria Staion! (Then she got a Secret! :giggle: ) It was a great place to eat.

One of the best albums (IMO) was an LP (remember those? :blush: ) that Johnny Cash did on commission for the chain, and it was called "Destination Victoria Station"! The LP included something like 30 railroad songs, and nothing else. I have found some of these recordings on other albums, but not all of them and not all on one album.

I really wish I still had my copy of this LP!

I still have mine, I will eventually digitize it!

 

[railiner]

There is this for caboose lovers...

http://www.redcaboosemotel.com/

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Going even more off topic....

http://www.tinyassapartment.com/2011/08/i-choo-choo-choose-you-train-caboose.html?m=1

Link post by one of our west coast members a bit back.

 

[CHamilton]

And, of course, there are the cabooses at the Izaak Walton Inn in Essex, MT, next to Glacier Park.

 

[KrazyKoala]

I choo-choo-choose you: A train caboose turned home

Sounds mighty familiar...Season 4 Episode 15...

Also:

Marcia and her then-husband purchased a wooden Soo Line train caboose

He either left her cause she wanted to move into a caboose, or perhaps, they argued over something else and he kicked her caboose to the caboose. :giggle:

 

[ne52]

Just pulled out of WAS and had my phone ready to take a picture... didn't see any cabooses or anything similar.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

Just pulled out of WAS and had my phone ready to take a picture... didn't see any cabooses or anything similar.

Sounds like a cabust. :mellow:

Here is a website dedicated to caboose lodging.

There is one in West Virginia called the Castaway Caboose. From its website:

Your overnight package includes a round-trip fare on the DURBIN ROCKET steam train ride, where you will be “cast away” at one of two remote settings. Located several miles from the nearest encroachment of the modern world, this secluded wilderness setting along the beautiful Greenbrier River is where you will spend the evening with only the rushing waters of the river to break the quiet of the night. At the end of your stay the train will pull your caboose car back to Durbin where you will be treated to your first glimpse of civilization!

I keep threatening to drag Mrs. Crockett out on one of these!