# Caboose running - smoke stack to the front or rear?



## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

It seems that most videos I have seen that include a caboose have had the smoke stack to the front of the caboose. I would have thought that it would have been preferred to have the smoke stack to the rear so the smoke did not interfere with their vision forward.

On my caboose and many others if you sat at the writing table you would be facing away from the stove and smoke stack which would suggest that it was intended to be run with the smoke stack to the rear.

I also realize that the railroads may not have bothered with turning the caboose and simply ran them whichever way they happened to be sitting.

Was there actually a preferred or recommended way of running the cabooses and did it perhaps vary when there was a fire in the stove?

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Cabooses were normally not turned and were considered bi-directional.


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## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

I was told by an old freight conductor that they did not turn a caboose. The smoke stack had a cover on it to enhance draft and eliminate positive pressure. Even a caboose with the cupola at one end would sometimes be "backwards" if that was the way it was connected to a train. Although this may vary from railroad to railroad. 

Terry


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## Greg Stevens (Jan 3, 2008)

Jerry,

Back when we had cabeese on the RR, they never turned them. The smoke coming from the stove pipe was minimal as they burned diesel or something akin to it. I remember one caboose stove catching fire due to the fuel in the overflow basin overheating. We tried to put it out with chemical extinguishers to no avail. Every time we thought it was out, it would flash over and start burning again. The fire dept finally arrived and got it out with water. It needed to be cooled down rather than smothered. But back to your question, I doubt if there was much smoke from the stack. The smoke quickly dissipated and wouldn't have much of a factor in visibility. I have ridden in many cabeese and never noted any smoke to speak of.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Thanks Richard, Terry and Greg,

Somehow I thought what you said was correct but I guess I saw just one too many videos with the smokestack in front.

With the MoPac Screaming Eagle it seemed that it would look strange flying backward.

Jerry


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## Trains (Jan 2, 2008)

Ah yes those were the good old days when conductors would burn anything that would burn, when they ran out of fuel oil. Then we had
to clean out the heater.


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

I remember burning coal in the stoves back when I worked for them. Did not start to convert till the 60s on my RR. Sure would have nice to got one of the old stoves when they replaced them. Would have made a great garage heater back then. I remember seeing stacks of the stoves in a scrap pile at 40th street yard in Chicago. One thing I did get was the old kerosene caboose marker lamps. They proudly are mounted out on my garden RR. Later RJD


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## hawkeye2 (Jan 6, 2008)

I have spent many a Christmas night in a friend's wood caboose in his back yard with a good coal fire going in the original stove and have never seen enough smoke from the stack to be an issue. We have had one end of the caboose over 90 degrees with the outside temp near zero which is cold in VA (would never be able to do that if the car was moving). I doubt you would have seen any smoke from a caboose stove in a moving train and those cabeese with smoke units are "toy train" items. If the crew's vision was obscured by smoke it was probably because the caboose was on fire.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By hawkeye2 on 21 Sep 2009 11:23 AM 
I have spent many a Christmas night in a friend's wood caboose in his back yard with a good coal fire going in the original stove and have never seen enough smoke from the stack to be an issue. We have had one end of the caboose over 90 degrees with the outside temp near zero which is cold in VA (would never be able to do that if the car was moving). I doubt you would have seen any smoke from a caboose stove in a moving train and those cabeese with smoke units are "toy train" items. If the crew's vision was obscured by smoke it was probably because the caboose was on fire.

I have got the wood burning stove for the caboose but it is not installed yet. Hopefully it will be installed and the chimney replaced before cold weather hits as I am looking forward to doing my own "smoke test."









Jerry


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## james brodie (Mar 28, 2008)

Dear Sir, In the North East area of England our local freight traffic area stretched from Thornaby to Redcar. Up and Down passenger lines and Up and Down freight lines plus extra running lines to ease the traffic flow. Right up to the end of steam and even early diesel turns we worked our freights without a van on the rear the guard riding in the cab of the steam choo choo and just the engine brake to stop or control the train we didn't have wagons with the automatic brake fitted. But that was academic as our choo choos only had an engine brake We could have anywhere between three wagons to seventy wagons-permissive block -meaning we followed nose to tail- if we did have a van it meant we could run on the passenger lines whistling like anything to get the signalman to give us a run. Time saved was extra money for us. I have known in the fifties when my wage as a top money fireman was £7-0-1d and on top of that we could make £10-00 bonus so we ran when we could. The vans on a local run the stove made no differance as the guard wasn't in them long enough. On a long run if the guard had a choice he would have the stove leading as the heat from the stovepipe chimney and the movement of the train circulated the heat from the front of the van towards the rear. The stove trailing and a draughty van !! you got a cold ride. For van please read caboose for a van carrying goods please read Boxwagon. Our mineral turns usually until people started favouring motor vehicles used to be 30 x 33Ton gross weight wagons or with two choo choos 52 x 33T glw coal wagons. It's strange but when you had collected all the couplings together and had the steam brake hard on no matter how hard you prssed your feet on the cab floor you still didn't stop any quicker! Sacre Bleur .Jim Brodie.


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Hi Jim,

Thanks for a different perspective.

Jerry


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