Origins of the Caboose

• The first caboose was created by a conductor named Nat Williams on the Auburn and Syracuse line in New York. Tired of doing paperwork in passenger space or the baggage car, Williams furnished a vacant boxcar with a box and barrel to serve as a chair and desk. He began using the empty space to store tools, and the caboose was born.
  
  

The Cupola Caboose

• T.B. Watson, a conductor for Chicago and North Western, built the first cupola caboose in 1863. When his regular caboose was reassigned, he began using a wooden boxcar with a hole in the roof. Watson stacked boxes under the hole so he could sit with his head above the car and enjoy the view of his train. After the trip he described the experience to a master mechanic, recommending that a "crow's nest" be added to cabooses so that crew could inspect the train while it was moving. This observation compartment took the form of a small windowed space protruding above the top of the car, normally in the center of the car but sometimes toward the end. The cupola caboose is what we think of as the standard caboose today.
  
  

The Bay Window Caboose

• In the 1920s, freight cars were built taller than most cupolas. The Bay Window Caboose was designed to compensate, with windows that protruded beyond the width of other cars. This viewing compartment allowed crew to see both sides of the train, while helping with tunnel clearance. It was also cheaper to build than the cupola caboose.
  
  

The Transfer Caboose

• The transfer caboose was likely the last caboose type ever developed. This car featured large open spaces on either end, with a shack in the middle for protection from the elements. It was used primarily over short distances and carried only the bare essentials. The outside platforms were often used to haul work material and tools. These cars typically didn't travel far from their home terminals.
  
  

Other Cabooses

• The rib-side caboose featured narrow steel strips that were welded to the car's side for added protection. The Milwaukee Road built 315 of these cars from 1939 to 1951. The drovers caboose was built by Chicago and North Western around the turn of the century to house stockmen and cow punchers so that they could care for livestock that was transported on the train. The drovers caboose featured overhead berths and seating for 32 passengers in addition to a coal stove at each end, one toilet and a sink with a water canteen.