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Show commission borrowed a box car which happened to have a hole in the roof. He had an idea-he idea-he piled some stuff on the floor under the hole and sat up there with a grand view of the whole train! He had the shop build a box over the hole for protection and the cupola caboose came into being. It was in 1923 that the first bay window caboose was built that one gave a view down the entire length of the train. Over the years the coal-burning stove gave way to a modern stove and the electric light replaced re-placed the kerosene lamp; bunks got springs, insulation was installed, in-stalled, seats were upholstered and safety rods cut down on bruised backs and barked shins. Today this rollingfield office, conductor headquarters, shelter, shel-ter, bunkhouse, kitchen, dining room, tool house, observation post and social center which has borne such derisive terms as buggy, glory wagon, crummy, chariot, go-cart and the bozo wagon, is a true command car. THE KEROSENE LANTERN long used to signal the entire length of the train has been replaced in most modern cabooses by radio telephone whereby the conductor can talk with the engineer and operating operat-ing crews along the route and even other train crews. In many instances the romantic roman-tic little red caboose has become be-come a big yellow or orange or green or silver one roaring roar-ing along at the end of a mile-long mile-long train up to 90 miles per hour. The caboose has lost a lot of its old-time glamour but it has become a far more efficient and safer contribution to railroading.. railroad-ing.. Information courtesy of the International Car Company, Kenton, Ohio. William J. Fur-bush, Fur-bush, president. Bits and Pieces By Eleanor Bennett A TRIBUTE to Tommy St. Joer from Eleanor The happiest little man in town was Tommy St. Joer. All of Park City will miss him the old-timers in particular; partic-ular; but even for me, a relative rel-ative newcomer, his leaving will make a distinct hole in my days. No matter the time of day or the day of the week, Mr. St. Joer had a joke; no matter the weather he laughed about it and most often would say, Yes, I remember once . . ." and then would come some outlandish story that always gave me a lift. He had a chuckle that was contagious. con-tagious. He's going to be happy up there in heaven-land, and he'll make it an extra nice place for all around him. IN THIS PART of my column this week I want to share some information I gathered recently about a little-discussed (sounds exciting, doesn't it?) subject the caboose! I found it interesting interest-ing and hope you will, too. Those of us who can remember remem-ber back a bit, have fond memories mem-ories of the whistle of a passing pas-sing train then the clackety-clack clackety-clack of freight cars as they wound their way along the tracks, and always, the end was in sight when the little red caboose cab-oose rounded the bend! Just as we looked for hoboes hitching a ride in an open box car or 'riding the rails" underneath, we hoped the conductor would be in his little private house the caboose and we'd get a friendly wave of the hand. The origin of the caboose goes back to 1855 when a conductor con-ductor on a long freight train was disgruntled because he had no shelter to call his own. Oh sure, he could ride upfront with the engineer or lie down in a box car, but one enterprising conductor spotted an abandoned abandon-ed boxcar on a siding and had a bright idea. Why not appropriate it for his own use? With the railroad's permission he put a desk and chair in and so the "conductor's car was born! ONE THING LEDtoanother-a LEDtoanother-a bunk bed, a kerosene lamp-he lamp-he said to himself, 'Why spend money for a bed at night?" And thus the little red caboose was born. Along about 1863 a freight conductor whose car was out of |
