From Inside the Cupola -
the Conductor's Perspective

With this page we are aiming to bring you the nuts and bolts of railroading from the point of view of the people that ran it. It's something that you won't find too much of on the Web.

Eventually we hope to compile stories as told by former employees of the Missouri Pacific, photos inside the "office on rails", caboose slang, and any other interesting information we come across. Enjoy!

The Job

Conductor/Brakeman: the eyes & ears for the engineer during backward movements. Traditionally, the Conductor who walked up and down the aisles of the passenger cars taking tickets, etc.

Flagman - Usually, the brakeman assigned to duties at the rear end of the train. To be a Flagman, the brakeman had to know how to read (so he could understand train orders), which from time to time would be changed enroute.

For many years freight trains were operated by train crews consisting of at least four men: a conductor, a brakeman, a locomotive engineer and a fireman. The brakeman was the conductor's assistant. Every conductor had served his apprenticeship as a brakeman.

Other Terms:

Big C, The Brains, King Pin, Skipper, Ram-rod, Conducer - more names for t he Conductor.

Brakie, Pinner, Pinhead, Baby lifter - more names for the Brakeman.

Swing - A brakeman who has responsibility for breaking up the train by setting out cars or sections of cars in the center position of a freight train.

Crows Nest - The cupola or box-like structure raised above the roof of a caboose from which a trainman may see along the train while it is in motion.

Highball Signal - given by conductor to the engineer when the train is ready to proceed to the next designated stop.

Spotting Cars - Switching freight cars to a specified location for loading and unloading.

Waybill - A document for handling and accounting for a shipment of freight.

Way Car - A box car (or caboose) from which LCL shipments are loaded and unloaded at various towns.

Nicnames

Caboose - hack, crummie, brain box, cabeese (plural for "caboose").

The term "Caboose" is the best known name to describe any car attached to the rear end of a freight train for use by the train crew. The word "caboose" itself may have derived from the older term of "cabin."

Called a Short Bay Caboose (a shortbodied w/ platform-type caboose, used in road service) by the MoPac, those that pulled and rode in them simply referred to them as "doghouse cabooses", a term that stuck to this style like glue. Despite appearing to be lighter than more traditional way cars, they actually offered a pretty good ride.

Including the "Doghouse" nicname, "outhouse," "shack on a flat," "Jenks party barge," and the usual assortment of 'colorful' terms were used to refer to this caboose style on the MoPac and most other roads that used them.

Other caboose nicnames include "crummies" (as some of them really were) "crumb box," "hacks," "brain box" (sic), "loony bins," "cabins" (a PRR term), "van" (Canadian origin) and "buggies" (a New England term). I've heard a few Conductors refer to the extended vision cab cupolas as "the Throne." And I always thought that was the toilet. (thanks 'Tuch' and R. Kirkpatrick)

A DODGER caboose is one assigned to local service, something of a "southern" term. A dodger is another word for a  local freight.  Since it has the lowest priority of anything on the line; it dodges into the available siding whenever the dispatcher gives the word.

The C&EI War Wagons
"Tuch" Santucci

In the Chicago area owing to some problems with a few of the neighbors and a Conductor getting robbed while his train was stopped at 40th Street in Chicago when the headend crew was making a set out, two of the cabooses assigned to Yard Center received major modifications.

The 12510 and 12512 (ex 13510 and 13512 nee C&EI 37 and 39) received steel mesh over all the windows. The doors were equipped with bars on the inside that could be lowered to bar the door shut so that they could not be kicked or smashed in. They were dubbed the "War Wagons" and a Car Inspector at the RIP track even stenciled them as such. On the bottom of the bays on either side just below the window in big white letters was "WAR WAGON" on both cabooses. These cabooses were required on the daily Yard Center to BRC Clearing Yard and Yard Center to 37th Street Yard transfer assignments. Everybody from top officials down to the Carmen  commonly referred to them as the war wagons.

After several months, someone decided that this name on the side of these cabooses might be misconstrued by the neighbors as a term of aggression against them, so the word WAR was blanked out with white paint. Somebody later took a lumber crayon and wrote the word GUT in the place of where the word WAR was, but the term war wagon lived on right up until they ceased using them.

Being that the 12509 and 12511 were on locals that operated outside of Yard Center, they never received this treatment. The 12511 was assigned to the Watseka local L400 and the 12509 was assigned to Villa Grove and used on locals there, usually L402 and L403 if memory serves correct.

From the Conductor's Office on Rails

Doghouse, cabin, hack, crummie... but most popularly known as the Caboose (the word "caboose" itself may have derived from the older term of "cabin"). It is the train crew's office on rails, and home while they are on the road.

It handles the business-side of the transportation of merchandise -- The conductor keeps a complete record of all transportation produced and sold, each carload or less-than-carload shipment handled by the train, freight charges, the contents of each car, and weight of materials, the shipper, the station at which it was received, the station at which it is to be unloaded or left, and to whom it is consigned.

The caboose is equipped with a table, a drinking-water cooler, benches/beds and chairs, a washstand and lighting. Modern cars made use of a wheel-mounted electric generator to produce electricity and charge the batteries.

An oil stove (older cars used coal) provides heat in winter and for warming the crew's food at meal time.

The cupola atop the car is the "watch tower" of the train. When the train is running, the conductor or one of the brakemen usually sits in the tower and watches in both directions to see that the train is running satisfactorily and that nothing is approaching from the rear.

The lockers are provided for members of the crew and for the necessary flags, lanterns, light repair tools, oils and other supplies.

On the older wood cabooses there were brackets on the corners of the car hold signal lights when the caboose is attached to a train. Modern steel cars replaced these with electric marker lights

The conductor makes out daily reports concerning the crew, the cars he picks up or drops off between terminals, the railroad they belong to, and so on. The waybills tell him the contents of each car in his train, and to what station, yard or junction point each car or shipment in the train is to be delivered.

Caboose Stories

Related Links:

• Bob Currie's MP DeQuincy Division - Great Caboose Fire Story

KO&G 1529 short caboose

This caboose was a very short car with a VERY short wheel base. Back when the MP (via TP) assumed control of the MV/KOG, this caboose was assigned to the Kirkwood local. A jobs conductor had been complaining about the condition of his 700 series wood caboose and as a result this car was assigned to his train. After a few trips banging down the track, he wanted his wood hack back. (B. Hoss)

MP 13689 - International Car Co. builder's plate from long bay window caboose - T. Greuter Photo