Hi Shaun,Cabooses were used to carry what was known as the "Rear End Train Crew." This was generaly the freight train's conductor and two brakemen. The Caboose was more or less the conductor's office where he could fill out paperwork and do other railroad functions while on board. Cabooses used on trains where it could be expected an overnight stop could be made often had bunks for the crew to sleep in during the overnight stop. There were generally cooking facilities on board as during a 12 hour shift a meal or two could be expected. The same stove used for cooking was also used for heating the car in winter.
The railroads stopped using cabooses for a variety of reasons. The primary one being money. With the advent of End of Train Devices, Cabooses became a redundant function as an end of train device could do elelctronicly what the rear end train crew did. End of train devices are also cheaper to maintain. To properly maintain an end of train device for one year,the railroad has to spend aproxamatly $75.00. To properly maintain and equip a caboose for one year, it costs nearly $6,500.00. needless to say, when a railroad has severl hundred trains a day and you can choose between End of Train devices, or cabooses, the economics of the thing tells you what to go with.
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