Steam & Excursion > Why not a private caboose?

Does anybody fix up a caboose as a private car? It seems like it would be much cheaper than most "private varnish" cars, although certainly not as nice. You couldn't take a dozen of your closest frientds, but the cupola would give as good a view as a dome. You could probably fit a nice master bedroom suite, with decent shower and usable kitchen.

Are there rules that preclude this? Does the short car just ride too rough? Or are there some out there I don't know about?

You can rent a caboose on the Cumbres and Toltec in Chama NM. Will hold 12 people, and get ready, the cost is $2500.

There are probably several reason why people do not use cabooses as private cars. First, private cars are usually moved on Amtrak trains, and to be moved by Amtrak you must be up to their codes. This includes having an HEP compatible car, passenger brake valves and tightlock couplers...all of which cabooses do not have and would cost a pretty penny to retrofit onto a caboose.

Now, if you were thinking of tacking a caboose onto the end of a regular frieght train, even the railroads were to allow such a thing, be prepared for an AWFUL ride. Many guys I have worked with that used to work in cabooses have told me horror stories about riding back there. Lets put it this way, there is enough slack in a train that the head end could be up to 4 or 5 mph before the rear end starts to move, which means when you start to move you will go instantly from stop to 5 mph, and that would not be too good on your china.

but could it be done? say i own a caboose and have a connection to a small shortline or regianol?
JC

tucker Wrote:
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> There are probably several reason why people do
> not use cabooses as private cars. First, private
> cars are usually moved on Amtrak trains, and to be
> moved by Amtrak you must be up to their codes.
> This includes having an HEP compatible car,
> passenger brake valves and tightlock
> couplers...all of which cabooses do not have and
> would cost a pretty penny to retrofit onto a
> caboose.

Most of the vintage passenger cars probably needed the same work. Would it cost lots more to do to a caboose?
>
> Now, if you were thinking of tacking a caboose
> onto the end of a regular frieght train, even the
> railroads were to allow such a thing, be prepared
> for an AWFUL ride. Many guys I have worked with
> that used to work in cabooses have told me horror
> stories about riding back there. Lets put it this
> way, there is enough slack in a train that the
> head end could be up to 4 or 5 mph before the rear
> end starts to move, which means when you start to
> move you will go instantly from stop to 5 mph, and
> that would not be too good on your china.

No, I was thinking passenger train -- Amtrak, or perhaps a shortline or tourist special.

Any engineer that gets to moving 5MPH before the rear end starts to move is gonna break a lot of drawbars and nuckles, and will have a lot of damaged freight, in a addition to a very mad rear end crew. I'd love to hear that radio transmission.

I very much doubt you could attach a caboose to an Amtrak train. Not only would you have to do the upgrades already mentioned, but you would have to install passenger trucks as well. Standard caboose trucks are not designed for passenger speeds.

tomstp Wrote:
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> Any engineer that gets to moving 5MPH before the
> rear end starts to move is gonna break a lot of
> drawbars and nuckles, and will have a lot of
> damaged freight, in a addition to a very mad rear
> end crew. I'd love to hear that radio
> transmission.


In Railfan & Railroad, I think, they did a tribute to the SD 45,the second part addressed this very issue. There was a neat story of a Santa Fe train heading out, and the engineer laying on the power! Great reading!

I can't find the article at the present time....sorry, folks.

JimBo

I do know that Jim Bistline of the Southern Steam specials,would take his former Central of Georgia caboose on trips,but that is the only person I can think of that ever had a caboose that went on a mainline fan trip.
Here in the Austin and Texas Central,we have a caboose you can rent for the day,seats 12..at $250.00 per day. We will also pull your private car behnd our trains for the same rate,if anyone is interested........

AAR Standards stipulate that cars built for occupied passenger service must meet certain construction and strength requirements. This includes collision posts, vestibules and buffers.

Cabooses are built to freight car standards and do not meet any of the construction and strength requirements of a passenger car.

FRA rules also state that any passenger train which is operated with a car built to freight car standards must be operated at freight train speeds, regardless of any improvements which may have been made.

In short, Cabboses are not passenger cars and cannot be operated on Amtrak passenger trains. They can be and are operated on many slow speed tourist trains.

The Hobo Railroad in New Hampshire runs private caboose trains during the summer months. There are many privately restored cabooses there.

Gonut

I'm a little amused at the comments that cabooses can not travel at passenger train speeds. Both UP and Santa Fe in steam days had some freights that operated at 70 to 80 MPH. And While the T&P had a speed limit of 60 for freights, that limit was regulary abused, up to 70 MPH.

And in diesel days many Santa Fe and SP intermodal trains ran 70 MPH with cabooses. All they needed were high speed trucks.

tomstp Wrote:
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> I'm a little amused at the comments that cabooses
> can not travel at passenger train speeds. Both UP
> and Santa Fe in steam days had some freights that
> operated at 70 to 80 MPH. And While the T&P
> had a speed limit of 60 for freights, that limit
> was regulary abused, up to 70 MPH.
>
> And in diesel days many Santa Fe and SP
> intermodal trains ran 70 MPH with cabooses. All
> they needed were high speed trucks.

I wondered about that myself -- thanks. By contrast, we all know that Amtrak is sooooo fast all the time!