I know many Forum railroaders like to run their pikes using some form of operations, opposed to just running around or back and fore. How many of us, when switching, not just in a yard, but from one yard to another, particularly if propelling their train, use a caboose?

Who, amongst us, regularly runs with a caboose at the tail end?

I regularly use a caboose on my trains - though if feeling really lazy I might just affix a red flag on the last car.

I do not run in the dark so tail lights are not needed on my shortline. My era is 1950 -1970 +/- for my 1:29 stock and earlier, around WW2 +/-, for the 1:22.5 stock.

My caboose stock numbers five items. A long steel version for wayfreight, boxcar/reefer trains, a small (Aristo track cleaner, minus track pad) and a bobber mounted on a flat bed for coal drags, another bobber on a flat bed which is part of my MOW train and finally a bobber solely for switching duties. All are decaled with my ficticious road name.

This is how it is done at Roanoke VA. I see it go by often.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLdd9A0WOrI

When I operate, I use a caboose. Adds to the trouble and gives a finished loom to the train.

On the WI&M, the union was too strong to replace the caboose with a FRED.

I model the late 30’s era, so a flock of cabeese is mandatory. Here are RGS 0402 and 0404, and yes, the interior lamp and marker lamps are on in 0404.

Bob

Yes, I run a caboose, a PRR one with my PRR locomotive, and a WM one with my WM locomotive. Right now the P&CS only has one caboose. More are in the shop. And the P&CS’s new caboose is a beauty.

Caboose is mandatory…

Sometimes it certainly can add the frustration, but that’s why we do it.

For the the 1920s a caboose was required so my trains always have one.

Union rules on the WI&M also state that the caboose cannot be used either to push or pull while preforming switching moves. This drives everybody but the conductor crazy. The conductor loves it because the caboose is his home away from home.

I always run a caboose (sometimes several) on my Fn3 trains. 1:29 operating practice varies depending on what I’m running.

When doing operations, the caboose gets left on the main while sidings are worked as I have no run-around facilities. When working the industry that is the same track as a wye tail I’ll sometimes switch out a car to be dropped behind the caboose, then shove with the caboose. No rules against that here.

I run a modern line with geared steam being brought out for specials and if the work load gets to be too much for the diesels. I do like to run cabooses but sometimes get a bit lazy. When switching around the caboose sometimes finds itself behind the engine on return trips.

I like the bobbers since they don’t add a lot of weight or drag to the train.

I bet most of us have a flock of cabeese. We should start a thread with our caboose lineup photos.

All our trains have a caboose and it is a rule (not always followed) is that when using a pusher the caboose should be behind the locomotive.

Stan

The LA&C RR is set in the 30’s and they always use a caboose. They even run a LCL freight caboose on the end of the passenger train. Each caboose is assigned to a loco so the same same crews always work together. But, because the cabeese are older wood framed models they are not allowed to be used in pushing or pulling moves.

Terry

Well to me there’s no train without a caboose; “mandatory” (well maybe not on a heavyweight passenger train), but I thought it was really funny when I saw Ken’s Rio Grande Southern because just before Christmas my children and I decided to create a Christmas ore train out of our gem and mineral collections and we added —you guessed it — a Rio Grande Southern caboose!

(http://www.saintfrancisrailroad.com/images/cab1.jpg)

so I took it all apart and made a fabric-and-tar roof (out of athletic tape from my daughter’s volleyball team bag)…

(http://www.saintfrancisrailroad.com/images/cab2.jpg)

then I weathered up the bottom and trucks…

(http://www.saintfrancisrailroad.com/images/cab3.jpg)

then painted the sides and the roof, including adding wood walkways…

(http://www.saintfrancisrailroad.com/images/cab4.jpg)

(http://www.saintfrancisrailroad.com/images/cab5.jpg)

then I lettered it with press-apply lettering…

(http://www.saintfrancisrailroad.com/images/cab6.jpg)

(http://www.saintfrancisrailroad.com/images/cab7.jpg)

…and that was it for the time. I didn’t have time to finish it up yet, like the ends and put back the rails and lights and all that, but I like running trains more than I like perfection, so I slapped a kadee #1 coupler on her and ran the train endlessly to everyone’s delight (until the coupler, which I had glued on a wood spacer with super glue, fell off!).

I have a video in AVI format of most of the ore cars of the eventual complete train running, including the caboose teetering back and forth badly which I’ll definitely fix because I can’t stand that. It’s a really really bad video, but I couldn’t get it to show here. I’ll figure that out sooner or later.

edit: I think I did it, I think…I put a movie on youtube for the first time, oh boy, now what? what have I come to?

[youtube]http://youtu.be/6acW11t1hck[/youtube]

John Passaro said:

Well to me there’s no train without a caboose; “mandatory” (well maybe not on a heavyweight passenger train), but I thought it was really funny when I saw Ken’s Rio Grande Southern because just before Christmas my children and I decided to create a Christmas ore train out of our gem and mineral collections and we added —you guessed it — a Rio Grande Southern caboose!

Yours looks good. Mine started out as a B’mann center cupola caboose. It got kit bashed a bit, I have another one on the work bench that I got from Lou in York that’s gonna get the same treatment. I’m just waiting on some scribed siding from Caboose Hobbies to get started on it.

I thought when you have an engine you needed the matching cabeese!
Most of my engines have a matching cabeese!
So yes I run with Cabeeses!

Your caboose looks good John but I think you had it running backwards in that video?

Now to add to the original question “do you run a caboose with your trains” which way do you place the cupola toward the front or back?

Marker lights go to the back…cupola don’t matter.

Just so happens the lights are glued on at the short end…

Todd, I place mine with the marker lights toward the rear. So that means my cabeese run with the cupola toward the rear. Its because they were built with the marker lights only on that end. Is that prototypical? I dunno. Some of my cabeese didn’t even have couplers on that end, until the railroad could afford more couplers.

My “weathered” #0574, Accucraft brass, round roof, long caboose.

BTW, I took this photo with the caboose at the rear of my “Chili Line” consist. My bad, should have turned the car around with the markers to the rear!

Spealing of marker lamps…I’m redoing my 1 1/2" caboose and added my new marker lights today.