Caboose Vocabulary

"A" and "B" ends

On rail cars, the "B" end is the end of the car with the hand brake (B for brake). The other end is the "A" end. Most cabooses have a hand brake on both ends. The "A" and "B" ends are usually stenciled inside a caboose.

Air brakes

The way a train slows or stops. The brakes operate by compressed air. Each rail car is equipped with an air brake system. An air hose links the brake systems of each rail car and thus the entire train can be slowed or stopped by the engineer. Before air brakes, each car had to be stopped by its own hand brake. (Rail car brakes stay pressed against the wheels until compressed air releases them.  Air must be released to engage the brakes.)

Angel's seat

A nickname used by some for the lookout seat in the cupola.

Ash can holder

For cigarette ash as the crew sat and smoked in the caboose. Usually placed on the wall between facing seats, and, of course, in the cupola or bay window.

Association of American Railroads (AAR)

A very influential board of representatives of the major railroads of Canada, Mexico and the United States. They set policy, safety rules and operation rules for the major railroads. They do not regulate small railroad companies. (See FRA for federal regulators.)

Battery box

Held 12-volt batteries to power a caboose's electrical system. The batteries were charged by the turning action of the caboose’s wheels (see Electric Generator). Batteries powered the radio system when the train sat idly on a side track.

Bay seat

The seat at the lookout bay. Since a bay window caboose had a lookout on each side of the caboose, one seat faced one way and the other seat, in the other bay, faced the other way.  A crew member could quickly change sides when the train went around curves, as this allowed the best views of the train.

Bay window

A protrusion from the sides of a caboose to allow a crew member to observe the rail cars of a train while it was in motion and/or signal the engineer. They would look for overheated wheel journals (hotboxes), shifted freight loads in hoppers or flat cars, or anything else out of sorts. The bay window came into use during the 1920s and replaced cupolas as freight cars became taller.  Cabooses with bay windows do not also have a cupola.

Bay window shape

Bay windows have two shapes: as a canted (sloped sides) bay window or a rectangular (box) bay window. Their tops were either slanted to shed the rain or flat.

Body

Includes the cabin of a caboose, the couplers and underframe but not the trucks.

Brake cylinder

A noticeable tank hanging on the underside of a caboose with piping coming out of each end. The brake cylinder is part of the air brake system which slows or stops a train. A piston inside the cylinder creates air pressure which then engages the brakes on the trucks.

Brake pressure gauge

A gauge in the caboose which showed the amount of air pressure in the brake system. Low pressure meant the brakes were rubbing and overheating the wheels.

Brake valve

A valve lever inside a caboose which, in an emergency, could apply the train's brakes.   If the brake pressure showing in the pressure gauge was at a dangerous level, the brake value could stop the train.

Brake wheel

The metal hand wheel on the end platform of a caboose. Turning the wheel applied the brake to the caboose. A caboose typically has a brake wheel on each end platform.

Brakemen

Before trains had air brakes, each rail car had to be slowed by its own hand brake so a train could stop at a station without the cars crashing into each other. Brakemen ran along the tops of the rail cars to tighten the brakes on each car. It was probably the most dangerous job on a railway.

Builder's plate

A metal plate which shows who manufactured the caboose and where. Sometimes the year and car number are stamped onto the plate.

Bunk

A narrow bed with a thin mattress inside the caboose for a crew member to sleep on. Could be a bunk or a single bed, both were called a bunk.

Cabin car

Another name for a caboose.

Caboose

A rail car which is attached to the rear of a train and serves as an office, tool storage, kitchen and sleeping quarters for the conductor and train crew while they are in transit. 

The main three purposes of a caboose was to act as the conductor's office, monitor the air brake pressure, and a place to look over the train while in motion.

A caboose typically was equipped with a toilet, drinking water, a table,  benches/chairs and beds, a washstand, a stove, storage lockers and lighting. 

Car

More often called a rail car. A car is what a locomotive pulls. A caboose is a special car. All other cars on a train carry cargo or passengers. A caboose carries railroad workers. (See Rail Car.)

Car number

Every caboose had its own unique car number, assigned by the railroad company as part of their inventory of rolling stock. The numbers were painted on the car for easy identification. The car number usually changed as the caboose changed hands in ownership.

Conductor

The person in charge of the entire train, including the locomotive.  The engineer is in charge of running the locomotive but cannot move without permission of the conductor.  The conductor manages the entire train crew and the train cargo.  The conductor tells which rail cars to drop off and which to pick up between terminals.

Conductor's office

Small table and chair in a caboose specially designated for the conductor to do his bookwork, reports and keep his forms.  One important form was the manifest which told what on board each rail car and where it was to be dropped off.

Conductor's valve

An emergency brake lever in a caboose which the conductor could pull to stop the entire train.

Consist

All the rolling stock in a train (engine, rail cars, caboose)

Consolidated stencil

Also called a COTS plate. A white-bordered black rectangular box (panel) painted on the side of a caboose. It’s here that maintenance information on the air-brake system and journal bearings, plus the built-date of the caboose, must be displayed. Required after 1974.  Two panel COTS became mandatory in 1975 unless the caboose already had a one-panel COTS.  Three-panel COTS appeared in 1982.

COTS plate

Stands for Clean, Oil, Test, Stencil and was (is) the procedure for maintenance and air brake testing.  Also, see consolidated stencil.

Coupler

The hitch. A device located at both ends of all rail cars, in a fixed location, to allow one rail car to latch (hitch) to another,  Releasing the lock of a coupler detaches a rail car.

Crow’s nest

A nickname for the cupola.

Cupola

A box-like structure raised above the roof of a caboose from which a crew member could observe the train while it was in motion or signal the engineer. The cupola came into use during the 1870s. The crew member would look for overheated wheel journals (hotboxes), shifted freight loads in hoppers or flat cars or anything else out of sorts. Cabooses with a cupola did not also have bay windows.

Cupola location

A cupola was generally located in one of three locations: either in the center of the caboose’s roof, a little off center or near the end of the caboose.

Cupola platform

Floor of the cupola

Cupola seat

A seat for looking out of a cupola. Early cabooses used wood benches. Later cabooses had cushioned chairs or a bench. Seatbelts came even later since the slack could toss a lookout out of the cupola.

Cupola width

Early wooden cabooses had narrow or small cupolas. The cupolas on steel cabooses are at least as wide as the cabin.  On extended vision cabooses, the cupola was, of course, wider than the width of the cabin.

Cut lever or uncoupling lever

An obscure hand lever or rod at the end of a caboose, attached to the sill, which releases the pin in a coupler and allows the caboose to be uncoupled without having to get on the ground to pull the pin.

Electric generator

Electricity was supplied to a caboose by a generator in the wheel and axle assembly. The turning of the axle or wheel generated electricity.

End gate

A swing gate (or a chain) in the end handrail for easy access to the coupler or air hose.

End of Train Device (ETD)

The technology which replaced the caboose. It is an electric transmitter unit mounted on the last car of a train that transmits information (brake pressure, motion) to the engineer. An active caboose will have an ETD attached to the end of it. (Also see FRED.)

End platform

A porch or floor at the end and on the outside of a caboose.  Older cabooses had a wood decking, newer cabooses had metal decking.

Engine

Also called the locomotive. The engine is the powerhouse of a train. It is self propelled and can push or pull rail cars (and caboose) along railroad tracks.  (Railroad purists will say an engine is part of a locomotive, which is technically true.  Track lingo treats engine and locomotive as being synonymous.)

Extended vision

A type of caboose in which the cupola was wider than the cabin to allow a crew member to observe the rail cars of a train while it was in motion and/or signal the engineer.

Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)

Federal agency under the Department of Transportation which deals with safety, research, expansion and regulation of the nation's railways.  Interestingly, it was not the FRA which removed the requirement for trains to have a caboose but each state began to remove the requirement through the 1980s.

Flagman

The brakeman in the caboose was also the flagman.   If the train had to stop on the tracks (between stations), the flagman would walk back down the track a long ways to signal any trains coming up the track to stop.  He would carry a red flag, a lantern, flares and torpedoes to signal and warn approaching trains.  The train's whistle would call the flagman back to the caboose when the train was ready to move again.

Flare or Fusee

Flares looked like a stick of dynamite but instead of exploding, they spewed out a bright light, like a roman candle.  They were used as signals to warn an approaching train of some danger down the track (or a stopped train down the track).  Some called a flare a "fusee". 

Flashing Rear-End Device (FRED)

FREDs are placed at the end of a train to flash a red light so approaching engines know there is a train ahead.  FREDs do not have any sensors or a transmitter like an ETD does.

Foot rest

Bar or brace, sometimes adjustable, for the lookout in the cupola or bay window to rest their feet on.

Grabs, grab bars or hand holds

Metal bars which were positioned all over a caboose so one could steady themself or hang on when the caboose took up the slack. Cabooses were the only rail cars designed to get on and off while it was moving. Grab bars on the sides of a caboose were curved to allow one to grab the moving caboose then slide the hand upwards along the bar so the foot could land on the first step.  (Also see monkey bars.)

Hack

A nickname for a caboose, commonly use on the Northeast Coast.

Hand rail

A curved extension of ladder unto the roof of a caboose

Handrail or end handrail

The handrail fence on the end platform.

Heritage

The heritage of a caboose is a list of all its owners through time. Cabooses changed owners as companies merged or folded and sold off rolling stock. For example, a caboose could have started life as Illinois Central 9571, then become Illinois Central Gulf 199571, then KCS 204 and is now owned by the city of Oneida.

Hopper

The bathroom on a caboose.  Some called just the commode a hopper.

Hot box

A bad wheel. An overheated journal box which has bad bearing and is about to fail.  The lookout in the caboose kept a constant watch for the telltale smoke of a hot box.

Hot box signal

Holding the nose with one hand and pointing to the wheel with the other.

Ice box or refrigerator

Small unit on a caboose to keep food fresh. Refrigerators came along after electric generators on the caboose wheels were invented.

Journal box

The metal housing on an axle which enclosed the bearing, the axle end and the lubrication.  When the bearing began to fail, the journal box became a hot box.

Ladder or end ladder

A ladder on the end platform to the platform roof of a caboose (and usually a running board).  Most cabooses had at least one ladder, some had none.

Light weight

The weight of an empty railroad car. Includes both the body and the trucks. The light weight of a caboose is an empty caboose stripped of all its furniture and fixtures.  A caboose never approached its possible maximum in weight like a freight car could.

Locker or closet

Storage compartment in a caboose for both personal items such as coats, hats and such, or work items such as flares, tools, oils and such.

Locomotive

(See Engine.)

Lookout

Early term for the cupola.

Lookout seat

A seat in the cupola or bay window for a crew member to observe the train.  In some cabooses it was a bench facing each way.  In some cabooses, it was a single chair with an interchangeable back. (Also see bay seat.)

Marker lamp

Used only on early cabooses.  A marker lamp went on each side of the caboose at the back, facing towards the back (to be seen by an approaching train). A red lens signaled the train was on the mainline.  A green lens signaled that the train was on a side line.

Marker lights

After cabooses were electrified, marker lights were placed at the edge of the platform roof, to be seen by approaching trains.  There was a red light and a green light side by side (or sometimes only a red light).  The red light signaled the train was on the main line.  Green signaled that the train was on a side line (safe to pass).

Markings

The letters, numbers and logos painted on the side of caboose to show the name of the railroad company and the car number, such as Southern X337. (Also see reporting marks.)

Microphor toilet

Toilet used in a caboose. Flushed by compressed air rather than water and gravity. Only needed a little water per flush (to sluice the bowl). Operated by a valve rather than commode handle.

Monkey bars

Hand grip rail down center ceiling of a caboose to help steady those walking about in a moving caboose.

Number series

Every caboose has its own car number (like 199456) when it was manufactured, yet cabooses were manufactured in batches or groups of similar builds, such as a group of 45 steel cabooses all 30 foot long with a extended vision cupola, extended porches and similar insides. The number series represents all 45 identical cabooses.

Oil stove

The oil burning stove in a caboose which brewed the coffee, warmed the crew’s food and provided heat in winter.  An oil fuel tank inside the caboose supplied the oil to the stove.  The fuel tank was filled by an "oil fill pipe" which jutted out of the side of the caboose: a very distinctive feature on a caboose.   Older cabooses used wood or coal burning stoves.

Platform

Also called the end platform. The porch on each end of a caboose.

Platform roof

Covering over an end platform. Most all cabooses had covered end platforms, Transfer cabooses typically had only part of the platform covered. The platform roof was not an apron or add-on to the main roof (as in a passenger car), it was the main roof.

Portholes

Round or rounded windows in a caboose. Usually not able to be opened.

Pullman seats

Bench type seat in a caboose, bolted to the floor, with metal bar arm rests (some had padding), some back padding and head padding (to help with the slack). Wide enough for two to squeeze in. Typically, two seats faced each other. One could catch some sleep by throwing their feet on the other seat.

Radio

By the late 1950s, two-way radios were used to communicate between the engine and the crew in the caboose. Early radios required a current of electricity generated by the wheels of the caboose. Special radios were built which ran on only 12-volts.

Rail Car

There are several different types of rail cars such as box cars, flat cars, tank cars and passenger cars. A caboose is also considered a rail car but it falls into a special class of its own since it only carries railroad workers, plus some maintenance equipment.

Reporting marks

Two to four letters which represent the company name (such as LN for Louisville & Nashville). AAR creates reporting marks for every major railroad company.

Rolling stock

The engine, rail cars and caboose, plus any other vehicle which rolls on the rails. If it can run on a track it is considered as rolling stock of a company.

Roof rails / bars

Handrails on the roof of a caboose.

Running boards or roof walk 

A hardened platform walkway on the roof of a train car. Many cabooses had running boards, accessible by ladders on the end platforms. A crewman could communicate with the engineers by signaling with a lantern while standing on a running board. In later years, standing on a moving caboose was declared unsafe, so running boards disappeared.

Sash

As in any window, the sash is the framework which holds the glass in place.  Cabooses used both wood and metal sashes (aluminum mostly).  Wood sashes rot over time, even quicker on a moving rail car. Restoring a caboose usually means replacing all the wood sashes.

Shorty

Nickname for L&N steel bay-window cabooses built in the 1960s which were about 6 feet shorter than other cabooses built during that time.

Shoving

When a locomotive pushes a cut of cars from the back, usually to attach them to a consist of cars. Shoving is usually for a short distance in a train yard, but can also be for several miles.

Shoving platform

A caboose which is used when a block of cars are shoved more than a short distance. The caboose is spartan, without electricity and not kept up, but provides a safe place for the conductor to stand (also meets union rules). The shoving platform leads the cars when they are being shoved and the conductor watches the track. On most shoving platforms, the windows are removed and the holes covered.

Sides

The two longest walls of a caboose were called sides.  (The two end walls were called ends.)  Early cabooses had wooden sides and ends made with either tongue and groove siding (as seen in old Tennessee Central cabooses) or plywood siding.  Sometimes the wood sides were supported by metal braces.   About the time of World War II, as steel became more affordable, caboose sides and ends were made entirely of steel plates.

Side bay

A type of caboose with a bay window instead of a  cupola. See bay window.

Signals

Before two-way radios, the crew in the caboose communicated with the engineers in the locomotive with signals, typically using a railroad lantern. Swinging or holding the lantern a certain way sent a message. The engineers communicated with those in the caboose by way of the engine's whistle, different toots carried different messages.

Sill

The main longitudinal members of a car underframe.  The sill is between the floor of a caboose’s cabin and the trucks.  The coupler is connected to the sill.

Slack or taking out Slack

The noisy "tug" or lurch it takes to get a rail car moving down the track. Rail cars are not tightly coupled together, there is wiggle room or slack in their connections. When a train starts moving, the first car must tug on the second car to take out the slack between them, and so on down the train to the caboose. One can hear the loud clank as the slack is taken out of the couplers. Taking out slack lurches each train car forward with the lurch getting faster towards the end of the train, the caboose. A caboose can lurch several feet forward in a split second when the "slack" reaches it. It can be dangerous to the crew members if they are not prepared (holding on).

Smoke jack or smoke stack

The vent pipe sticking up out of the roof for the stove in a caboose.  More often called the smoke jack.  The styles vary between short and tall stacks.

Steel caboose

The cabin and roof of a caboose which is built mostly from steel.  Cabooses began to be built almost entirely of steel after World War I.  Before, they were built mostly of wood. One can identify a steel caboose by its rivets.  (Also see wood caboose).

Steps 

Metal steps to and from an end platform, found on both sides of a platform and on both ends of a caboose. Each flight of steps was called a step box. The conductor could stand on the lowest step, hold tight to the grab bar and lean out to signal the engine (before there was radio communication). One used the rear steps when getting on and off a moving caboose so as to not fall under the wheels.

Sun shade

A canvas curtain on a caboose window which was rolled up and down

Terminal

It is where a train ends its journey.  A terminal can be a station or a rail yard or at the end of a spur line at an industry. Cabooses were uncoupled at a terminal and then coupled again as the train formed for the return journey.

Toilet

Until the 1970s, the toilet on a caboose emptied directly onto the railroad tracks.  Environmental regulations caused holding tanks to be installed on cabooses.  The tanks were emptied at train yards.

Torpedo

Torpedoes were small explosive charges which were placed on a track to signal an oncoming train of danger on down the track.  The wheels of the heavy engine would set the charge off and the sound of the explosion would warn the engineer.   The charge of a torpedo did not hurt the track or the engine.   A torpedo looked like a small packet and was held in place on top of the track by two wires which tied it to the track.

Trailing end

The rear or following end of any train or movement of cars. A caboose is the trailing end on a forward moving train. It becomes the leading end when the train is being pushed from behind.

Train

An engine with at least one rail car.  An engine or rail car by itself is not considered a train.

Train yard or rail yard

The beehive for trains.  This is where trains drop cars, change cars or pick up cars.  Engines can turn around, get repaired and/or get parked on a sideline. Large train yards can have a dozen or more parallel tracks and thousands of rail cars coming and going every day.  This is where you find transfer cabooses and shoving platforms at work.

Transfer caboose

A transfer caboose was designed to be used within a city or large train yard.  They had a small cabin with no amenities (except a desk), no lookouts, and large end platforms to carry work material and spare parts. They were meant to trail a block of cars being transferred from one terminal to another, or assist a set of railway workers for the day.

Truck

The wheel assembly underneath a caboose. Steel cabooses had two trucks.  Each truck has two axles, four wheels, a bolster and suspension springs locked together by side frames and gravity. A truck swivels as a unit under a caboose. A truck is attached to the center sill of a caboose and can be removed for repair or replacement.

Wash Basin

A sink to wash one's face and hands.  Usually a solid metal bowl with hot and cold water spigots.  It drained directly onto the tracks until holding tanks were installed in the 1970s.

Water tank

Where the drinking water, sink water and toilet water was stored in a caboose.  Usually a large tank latched to the inside roof of the caboose and near the sink and toilet.

Way car

A nickname for a caboose.

Wheel flange

A large rim on the edge of a train car's wheel which guided the wheel to stay aligned with the track.

Window 

Cabooses had windows, a feature found only on passenger and mail cars.  Some windows opened by sliding them horizontally and some opened by sliding up and down and some could not be opened. Some windows were double panes and some single pane.  And some were portholes.  There was not a uniform standard size, rather each maker of cabooses used different dimensions and placement.

Window awning

A shade or cover draped over the upper portion of a window to divert water away from the window

Window sill

A horizontal piece of wood or metal at the base of a window which seals the window and spills water away from the window

Wood caboose (Woodie)

Until World War I, caboose cabins were made mostly of wood (floor, sides, roof).  They now affectionately called "woodies".  The sides were either tongue & groove wood slats or wood panels. (In fact, the first cabooses were wood sheds attached to flat cars.) After World War I, the cabin walls and roof were made of steel.