I just bought SantaFe caboose # 999499 second hand from a guy who bought it from the SantaFe in Barstowe CA in 1989 when they retired everything.

Is there a good source for an explaination as
to what all the funky tool racks and stuff are for. (I mean the fire sticks and torpeodes are obvious as well as the first-aid kits, but in
paticular, there's a closet under the crow's nest
opposite the circuit breakers that has many sheet metal racks for varying shape and sized stuff...
(some of which are diagonal, like for a fire-axe maybe)

Is there some standard operating manual for
caboose residents covering all the standard equipment, or is there a good book on the subject..?

Mark

qa2987@email.mot.com

Mark,

you will need to find information from the railroad or the railroads historical society. Every railroad had different requirments, and sometime the States that the car traveled thru dictated what was carried. as an example Central Vermont RR Cabooses operating in Massachussetts were required to carry additional equipment including jacks. i Belive this lead to certain cars being set up specifically for this service.

AL P.

Railraod Museum of New England
alp@cheshire.net

there's a closet under the crow's
> nest
> opposite the circuit breakers that has many
> sheet metal racks for varying shape and
> sized stuff...
> (some of which are diagonal, like for a
> fire-axe maybe)

That was a very common place to put racks for holding spare brake hoses and glad hands; in the event of a broken train line house you could pull a replacement off the rack and use it to replace the damaged hose. Other potential stuff might be metal blue flags, possibly back up hoses--pretty much you name it.

eledbetter@rypn.org

Another item that each caboose carried was a set of spare coupler knuckles and tools needed to change out knuckles and air hoses. Rerailers may well have been kept on some cabooses, especially years ago when the big hook wasn't called out except for major derailments and wrecks. The caboose was basically equipped to deal with any condition that a train crew might encounter in normal freight train operations.

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
envlink@voyageronline.net

Let's not forget the more inportant cooking and laundry equipment and pinup calendars.

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

Here is the list


List of Caboose Equipment
oldtimetrains@rrmail.com

> Here is the list

Oh, my!!!! The prices!!!! $17.50 for a marker lamp. Get the smelling salts, I feel faint!!

Many roads had the equipment list posted in a frame (under glass) inside the car (Al P.'s restored CV 4014 is thus equipped). Others listed same in the timetable or special instructions (Western Maryland-- along with equip. carried on locos).

hpincus@mindspring.com

On the other hand, there are some items on that list that I know I'd rather not deal with- primarily dope. I've heard about the stuff but have never had to deal with it firsthand. Car oil can be equally nasty. Having to service or repack a friction bearing journal is miserable work, especially if you have one or two six axle heavyweight coaches equipped with them. Replacing busted knuckles or brake shoes is no fun either, but dope and car oil are the worst.

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
envlink@voyageronline.net

I forgot to mention that the crew probably also stored their travel bags and the conductor's box in the closet/storage locker. Usually the conductor's box was made of tin and would probably fit the following dimension: 20"x12"x12". All conductors used these to carry their rule books, train books, timetables, forms, tickets and ticket punches (on passenger trains), personal safety gear in later years and in some cases, firearms. In other words, they carried all of their personal work equipment in it. A conductor's box would need to be stored in a storage locker to prevent it from injuring the crew in case of an accident as they were quite heavy. My box is a good example of this. When I have all of my equipment in it, it weights about 25 lbs.

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
envlink@voyageronline.net

This topic prompts me to offer a query. Would someone help this novice understand torpedoes? I'm told they're placed on the track to warn oncoming trains of a standing train on the track ahead, right? What do they look like? How do they function? Are they still used? Our local museum has a UPRR caboose with only the label remaining where the torpedoes were kept, and we get lots of questions on that. (Yes, this is really a caboose, not a submarine.) Thanks for any enlightenment you can offer!

Dick

>What do they look like?

Newer torpedoes are a small round tube about 3 inches long and less than an inch in diameter and bright flourescent red/yellow.

Older ones were concave or half round with the flat side having heavy grit to prevent them from sliding along the rail. Held in place by two wire clips.

>How do they function?

Always placed on the rails in pairs opposite each other to explode together with one sound. Two prevents the chance that one might not go off.

They are a small piece of dynamite and explode with the weight/impact of the wheels.

I once walked past an engine that some joker had put a gun (torpedo) right under the driver. The concusion hit my leg like someone smacking me! Good thing I was wearing overalls and pants.

NEVER fool with these things! They can take you hand off! Never hit with a rock or hammer.

Old ones they say (like dynamite) get rotten and unstable, so be CAREFULL if you come across any.

Are they still used? Our local museum has a UPRR
> caboose with only the label remaining where
> the torpedoes were kept, and we get lots of
> questions on that. (Yes, this is really a
> caboose, not a submarine.) Thanks for any
> enlightenment you can offer!

> Dick


Old Time Trains
oldtimetrains@rrmail.com

> This topic prompts me to offer a query.
> Would someone help this novice understand
> torpedoes?

Most roads banned their use in recent years. The flagging rule (Rule 99) called for the flagman to go back "a sufficient distance" and place two "guns" on the rail, about 100 feet apart, both day and night. A fusee or red lantern were the other night flagging signals, and a red flag was used for daytime.

The torpedoes are about the size and shape of a large ravioli, filled with a small amount of explosive, with two small lead staps extendinf from each side. They are bent around the rail head to hold the torpedo in place. When the wheels run over one, BANG!! The lead can fly and hit someone, and kids loved to "collect" them from unattended cabooses. Some of those kids lost fingers and eyes and no doubt sued the railroad. With FREDs, radios, GPS and computer dispatching systems, torpedoes (and rear-end flagmen) are as necessary on contemporary railroads as ash pits.

Another use for the things was the last run of a train or railroader-- the retirement trip arrival at the terminal usually had about 50 or 100 guns on the track. What a racket that made.

One or two have been known to go off at the Naugy from time to time.

hpincus@mindspring.com

Torpedos are used to warn approaching trains of a standing train or condition that requires extra caution. They are placed on the head of the rail and held in place using metal straps. They would be placed a minimum safe distance ahead or behind the train based on timetable instructions. Two torpedos are always used in case one fails to detonate and they are placed a minimum of 100 feet apart. The torpedos are detonated by the wheels of a train or locomotive running over them.
A torpedo sounds just like a shotgun blast when it is detonated. Trainmen were always warned to stand far away when a train detonated the torpedos since the metal retaining straps could become shrapnel and the extreme level of noise produced. Also, each torpedo had enough black powder to cause significant physical harm.

It is believed that the first torpedos were blasting caps back in the days when people still used flintlock rifles. As the story goes, an ex-Civil War veteran was working as a flagman on a freight train and was sent out to protect the rear of the train one rainy night when it was disabled. There was a second train following close behind. In his hurry to get down the track and flag the approaching train, he stumbled, breaking his lantern's glass globe and causing it to go out. He was wondering about what to do when he remembered he had percussion caps for his rifle which was on the caboose. He pulled the tin of caps from his pocket and placed them on the rail. To keep them from sliding out from under the wheels, he took a handful of mud and used the mud to hold the caps in place. When the locomotive ran over the caps, the resulting noise made the engineer think that something on the locomotive had broken and he stopped.

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
envlink@voyageronline.net

I was taught years ago to NEVER use torpedos if the equipment has old cast iron wheels. The old cast wheels could be cracked or shattered. If cracked the failure may happen at a more inoportune time. The wheels are "pre-loaded" due to being pressed on the axle and a localized stress could do it in.

Many thanks to all for the good information! It will be of great help to me and all of our museum guides. Maybe I can even make some mock-ups, using wooden dowels, for show-and-tell.

Dick