about cabooses

[torikoos]

I'm in the process of making some decisions on what to model, and around what period, and believe it or not, I don't own a single model caboose yet.

Then it's time to take a major step back and decide what you're interested in regarding location and era, and why. I suspect this will involve a lot more than whether or not you use cabooses.

My interests are probably similar to yours, too many to mention, and in the meantime I have made a 'decisison'. I'm going modern(ish), but such that the buildings etc on my layout are not of the type constructed in the last 10 years or so, but could have been there from 1950's 60's onwards. Then, depending on my mood, I will run my 'older' trains (set in early 70's) one time, and new modern stuff another (late 90's to current).
I therefore am looking for tips and material to read/look at, in terms of structures, signalling devices etc that I could use for both 'era's above.
I guess a modern cantilever signal bridge made by BLMA models would not be suitable, but search light type signals could work.
By the way, when were the first signals with multiple seperate lights (like the modern hooded (darthvader)) types first introduced (with or without the hoods)? I know as a model railroader there is a degree of creative freedom, but I don't want to go too far. :-)