Railroaders' Nostalgia > But which one?

Here’s an image that’ll shiver yer timbers! It’s frickin’ COLD out there. And yes Virginia, those really are great big globs of snow falling down out of the sky. Not exactly manna from Heaven, is it? If you were told to pick a caboose to go sit in, which one would it be?

Put that question up to a seasoned railroader he would say: “the warmest one, of course”. And when asked which one was the warmest he would say: “the one with the most smoke coming out of the stack, of course”. And when informed there is NO smoke out of either stack he would say: “then just hide out here in this yard shack with me, of course.”

1. CRI&P cabeese 17663 & 19150 sit shivering in Armourdale, KS on December 29, 1969.
B/W negative by William A. -Art- Gibson (WAG) Jr.

Of course! ;^)
Lance Garrels (santafe199)
Art Gibson (wag216)

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Those 5 window outside braced  R I cabooses sure had a lot of character.

I got laid off as a Carman at Topeka in Jan of '75, and transferred to Argentine as a car inspector in the yards. I worked in the transfer yard a few nights a week, and saw Rock Island cabeese like these, maybe these same ones, every time I worked. I'd go inside and watch the air gauge, and would call the head end for a set and release. The cars were pretty trashey & beat up inside, minimal heat & shelter for anybody riding back there.

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the transfer caboose could be brought up the top heat and retain it longer 
 

The flip side was an onery employee would get inside the hack and jack the heat up as high as possible to where you could not touch anything metal inside.

Did any get saved?

Mike Root
Madras, OR

The 19135 survives at the Illinois Railroad Museum:
https://www.irm.org/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=CRIP19135-RESTORATION&id=afs