• When did Conrail stop using cabooses?

  • Discussion related to the operations and equipment of Consolidated Rail Corp. (Conrail) from 1976 to its present operations as Conrail Shared Assets. Official web site can be found here: CONRAIL.COM.
Discussion related to the operations and equipment of Consolidated Rail Corp. (Conrail) from 1976 to its present operations as Conrail Shared Assets. Official web site can be found here: CONRAIL.COM.

Moderators: TAMR213, keeper1616

  by lvrr325
 
Around the time of the split the last really old cabooses got retired, so far as I know, I remember the last "Northeastern" was retired in Buffalo and donated to the WNY NRHS. There's been some of the older PC transfer cabooses around, and at least one Reading wide-vision, but yes most are N21 bay window cars.
  by KevinD
 
scottychaos wrote:It happend system wide 1984-1986.

I started taking train photos in 1983, Southern Tier Main, NY state,
in 1984 cabooses were still in normal use, nearly ever train still had one..
by 1987 it was over, they were gone on mainline trains.

Scot

I agree, sometime about 1985-86 is when the bulk of their trains dropped them.

I did see a photo of a SeaLand double stack train operated by Conrail (before NYSW took the contract) with a Pennsy cab on the rear.
I never saw a caboose on an APL stack train when they started running in 1984
  by airman00
 
at the risk of sounding uneducated...what's up with the "switching platforms"? Cabooses seem fine to me. And they say this provides a safe place to stand and sit? I see nowhere to sit, and what happens if it rains? You have no protection from the elements whatsoever. It certainly is an interesting looking car at that however.
  by lvrr325
 
It's certainly safer than hanging off the end of a boxcar.