11-16-2009, 11:14 AM
From ToRyHeritage · Toronto Railway Heritage Group .
December 14, 1987:
The Railway Transport Committee gives both the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways qualified approval to operate freight trains without a caboose, subject to numerous conditions and safeguards. The ruling allowed the railways to replace the caboose with electronic end of train devices and relocate the rear-end crew in the cab of the locomotive. This transition removed from service possibly the only aspect of railway freight service considered romantic by a general public that was frequently irritated by lengthy freight trains blocking level crossings.
November 14, 1989:
CP Rail begins operating freight trains without cabooses. Whatever romance was imbued in the freight train by the general public was usually centred on the tail-end caboose, once ubiquitous throughout North America. The caboose was a home away from home for the crew, containing cooking facilities and bunks, as well as an office for the conductor. The purpose of the car was to allow the train to be supervised from the rear, making sure there were no problems - loads shifting dangerously, overheating axle boxes on the cars (hot boxes) that could cause derailments and cars separating from the train without the crew's knowledge. If the train made an unscheduled stop, the crew could protect the rear of the train and signal for assistance. New technology made the caboose unnecessary. These included improved bearings and lineside detectors to detect hot boxes, better designed cars to avoid problems with the load, and electronic end of train devices that could be attached to the rear of the train to detect the train separating and allowing the brakes to be applied from the rear by remote control.
Derek Boles
Toronto Railway Heritage Moderator
December 14, 1987:
The Railway Transport Committee gives both the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways qualified approval to operate freight trains without a caboose, subject to numerous conditions and safeguards. The ruling allowed the railways to replace the caboose with electronic end of train devices and relocate the rear-end crew in the cab of the locomotive. This transition removed from service possibly the only aspect of railway freight service considered romantic by a general public that was frequently irritated by lengthy freight trains blocking level crossings.
November 14, 1989:
CP Rail begins operating freight trains without cabooses. Whatever romance was imbued in the freight train by the general public was usually centred on the tail-end caboose, once ubiquitous throughout North America. The caboose was a home away from home for the crew, containing cooking facilities and bunks, as well as an office for the conductor. The purpose of the car was to allow the train to be supervised from the rear, making sure there were no problems - loads shifting dangerously, overheating axle boxes on the cars (hot boxes) that could cause derailments and cars separating from the train without the crew's knowledge. If the train made an unscheduled stop, the crew could protect the rear of the train and signal for assistance. New technology made the caboose unnecessary. These included improved bearings and lineside detectors to detect hot boxes, better designed cars to avoid problems with the load, and electronic end of train devices that could be attached to the rear of the train to detect the train separating and allowing the brakes to be applied from the rear by remote control.
Derek Boles
Toronto Railway Heritage Moderator
Ron Wm. Hurlbut
Toronto, Ontario, Dominion of Canada
Ontario Narrow Gauge Show
Humber Valley & Simcoe Railway Blog
Toronto, Ontario, Dominion of Canada
Ontario Narrow Gauge Show
Humber Valley & Simcoe Railway Blog