Rail Road Question

Several year ago the caboose was replaced by a box with a blinking light. Got an up close look at one of those boxes today. Must make electricity from air pressure since it kept making a whizzing sound. So why do we occasionally still see a caboose? Always unmannned and sometimes in the middle of the train?

I have not seen a caboose in decades.

Dean

Some Cabooses have been converted to carry rail sensing equipment and inspection teams. This gives the roads a close look at the condition of their road beds,rails and couplers.Most rail lines in the USA are becoming degraded from wear and climate damage.The introduction of continous rail or welded rail as it is some times called has given some of the major roads that can afford it a socalled new lease on life.BNSF, Southern Pacific, and others are some of the lines benefitting from this technology.The red box's air powered generator I don't have a clue about. I always figured they were DC electric.

It looks like they plug into the airline, so imagine they have a tiny generator in there.

FRED
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashing_rear-end_device

The flashing device (commonly called a FRED for flashing rear end device) is powered by a DC battery. It is used for multiple things. Some of which include monitoring rear end air pressure, rear of train location and so on. Remember a train's air brakes are not the same as a tractor-trailer in that a decrease in line pressure causes the triple valve to divert air pressure from the car's resevoir to the brake chamber. It is hard to understand the system at first but once you get the idea it is simple. Anyhow, monitoring the air pressure at the end of the train is vital in the use of this braking system. If you drop the air pressure (obviously from the loco) but the FRED doesn't register a drop in pressure, there is a block in the line. In the days before FRED there was an air guage in the caboose. Also the flashing light is to signify the end of the train. AAR rules dictate that from dusk to dawn there must be a lit device to signify the end of the train (when a DPU [distributed power unit] is used, dimmed headlights will suffice). During the daylight hours with good visibility many locals will use a red flag.

Cabooses are still used today for many tasks but many for what is known as a shoving platform. Basically when a train is to make a backing move someone needs to be on the leading end to "protect" it (make sure no obstructions are in the path) and if that move is a long distance the conductor needs a place to ride. They also are sometimes used as buffer cars. Again rules state that there needs to be atleast one car of non-hazardous class between the crew and a hazmat car.

About the continous weld rail, it has been in use for several decades (I am sure someone will come along with the exact date) and has enhanced the rail network greatly. And as a side note; the rails are not in a deteriorating state (some; yes but most is not).

Sorry for the novel, just figured I would throw my 2 pennies out there

In the summer of 1966 I worked on a Ganndy gang laying continuous rail in IL, for the Chicago Burlington & Quincy. I had been in their signal department 1958 & 1959 and never knew about it at that time. I switched for the U.P. for a couple years after that in the Omaha Yards. The Big Blow was the most memorable thing about that, these were over the road locomotives that were powered by jet engine like, turbines. They were used for only a few years.

JDB.......I remember as a teenager riding in the caboose of the Durango-Silverton NARROW-GAUGE railway with Dad. Potbelly coal stove and the STRONGEST COFFEE I had ever sipped. We got off'n the train 1/2-way up the canyon and went Boy Scout camping in the Needles Mts past abandoned Gold Mines. Ended up at Vallecito reservoir on the Florida river 50-mi away. .........Eagle Scout Dell

bkpigs, that was a very informative post. Thanks!

Continuous weld rail,, no expansion in areas of high temperatures so they just buckle. but it does cut down the clatter, that must be progress.

2nd everything bkpigs said, Some of the new FREDs
utilize an air vane motor rather then battery to generate power. Also very importent feature not mentioned is it allows the ability to dump air in an emergency from the rear end. Mid-to late
90s several runaway trains with blocked air lines caused runaways and major wrecks.
Tom retired BNSF conductor.

WOW Thanks for the info, never knew that "stuff" but very interesting.

John T

On "Local" or "Switching" runs the crew needs a
place with a toilet. Most cabose"s have a toilet,
with holding tank/tanks, sink, stove, radio,
work desk for paperwork. and in cold weather its
a place for shelter and to warm up. A place to
sit down when eating lunch.

I can't say I didn't learn something today. Thanks for the info.

A couple more comments:

On local trains in addition to providing a desk, toilet and general shelter a caboose is helpful for reverse moves - ie. where the train runs backward with the locomotive shoving at the rear. The caboose gives a trainman a safe place to ride while being the forward lookout, sounding a horn at crossings, setting the train brakes in an emergency, etc.

A caboose is still frequently used with special trains transporting heavy or oversized shipments like large transformers, pressure vessels, etc. Again it gives employees a safe place to ride while they accompany the shipment. (Photos below are of a shipping company-owned caboose with a large (400+ ton) transformer shipment I spotted rolling through town a couple days ago).

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As others note the whining sound is the exhaust from a small air turbine generator inside the FRED. If you listen closely you will occasionally hear a change in pitch of the turbine as the internal electrical load momentarily loads the turbogenerator. These load changes are always accompanied by a series of "chirps" heard around 457.9 mhz - the FRED's data transmitting frequency.

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years ago buckled rails were in news. How can welded rail handle all the expansion as old style had small slip via bolts at joints???

It used to be that ribben rail could only be laid between 60-90 degrees to help control expansion and contraction. It was my understanding that there is enough slack at 1/4 mile segments to take up expansion. Additionally, I've seen slow orders on track segments in cases of extreme heat. Don't remember
exact law but believe track train speeds over 50 mph require daily track inspection. Those below 50 every other day. Just can't remember for sure anymore.

I miss the days of real railroading when you could signal to the caboose man that you have spotted a hot box (hot journal bearing).

If you were standing by the track holding your nose they knew there was a hot box. If you were patting your chest with your other hand they knew it was to the fore part of the car string. If patting your stomach they knew it was near the middle, and if you were patting your butt they knew it was nearer the caboose.

They waved an appreciative thank you and in radio days signaled for the train to stop so that the box car or whatever could be placed onto a siding for repair.

As a young boy I enjoyed waving to the fireman, engineer, and the others.

Thank you all, very interesting!

We see quite a few BNSF cabooses go through this part of the country. BNSF sold a lot of them to Canadian railroads and they haven't even repainted them. Sti;; have BNSF on the.

I worked many a mile from a caboose and hated to see them go. Always felt we could keep a better eye on our train than the track-side detectors. The Fred was the end for caboose's as well as lot of thru freight jobs in my opinion.

UP is putting in a mile of new siding here and they are using concrete looking ties. I figured wood worked better for allowing for some flex.