Caboose

[avgwarhawk]

How many of you play with pulling a caboose and why?

[Comrade Dyatlov]

I should be. I really should be. But I am not. I didn't sell the one but I haven't bought any more either. It sits behind the Bryson repair tracks on that pair of unused spur tracks. For, ya know, preservation.

Prototypical accuracy and/or railfanning or just self-inflicted pain have got to be about the only reasons one would use it. Not criticizing it in the least. Actually respect the hell out of anyone suffering for their craft enough to use them. Game can be overwhelming even not running them. Adding that consumption of time and degree of difficulty is a hell of a thing.

[CMDR Sweeper]

It is a bit useless and annoying if you are to follow prototypical rules with the switching puzzles on the way, so I leave mine as well, especially since I am often doing long train shoves.

Funny thing is, when we were playing Stormworks, we always brought a Caboose, and had "The best caboose" with amentities that made it more fun to use, same with Railroads Online and their caboose.
Guess it needs a bit of internal spice.

The best caboose example:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1901374896

[zielscheibe]

No Caboose for me
I play in SP and i have a ♥♥♥♥ of work to do evrey Day. Some Days i have over 200 Freight deliveris. I have every Industri on Tier 5, now new opening Andrews on Tier 1. I have no TIme to think about how and when to use a Caboose.

[AshHill07]

Yes. Because

1: It's a good indicator for whether or not I'd actually finished putting that train together before I ran off to do something else.

2: Tail lights are useful when running around in the dark.

Honestly I've never really understood when people say about the complexity of using them. Is it really that hard to just leave it somewhere you can back into when you're done switching?

[avgwarhawk]

Originally posted by AshHill07:

Yes. Because

1: It's a good indicator for whether or not I'd actually finished putting that train together before I ran off to do something else.

2: Tail lights are useful when running around in the dark.

Honestly I've never really understood when people say about the complexity of using them. Is it really that hard to just leave it somewhere you can back into when you're done switching?

True. Its been discussed before, some type of bonus or perhaps road side repairs if a caboose is attached. There has to be something that would have a player use the caboose. I think I'll start running mine.

[CMDR Sweeper]

Originally posted by AshHill07:

Yes. Because

1: It's a good indicator for whether or not I'd actually finished putting that train together before I ran off to do something else.

2: Tail lights are useful when running around in the dark.

Honestly I've never really understood when people say about the complexity of using them. Is it really that hard to just leave it somewhere you can back into when you're done switching?

Well early game I do not like having to do one extra reverse or multiple reverses and run around pending on the track / sorting required to reattach the caboose on the rear.

But yes, if it offered some sort of bonus, it is a different story.
Railroad Tycoon 2's cabooses offered a reduction in train robberies as a result of sacrificing one of the 6 revenue car slots your locomotive could attach, or less if you had less power.

[coenvijge]

Yes, I'm using the caboose.

(At the moment) I'm playing with a coboose for my (only) engine that runs the few cargo trains in my game. (I'm at day 4 of a 1:1 timed game, running around 40 pax trains between Ela and Whittier with one engine and 5 cars; and six cargo trains (two times to Connelly and the return trip and one time from East Whittier to Ela and back).

The caboose 'follows' the 'cargo engine'. It's just for fun and to add some variation in the game. I immagine that it's used for my three man crew to take some rest, or sleep, play a card game and take shelter when bad weather occurs. Other than that it's also my offices and sometimes I just sit there enjoying my trip while our AI engineer is driving the train. And, as AshHill mentioned, it's helps to plan your work and when placed at the end of your train indicates that your work is done. It helps also to actually see the end of your train.






PS1

Originally posted by AshHill07:

..........
Honestly I've never really understood when people say about the complexity of using them. Is it really that hard to just leave it somewhere you can back into when you're done switching?

No it is not so hard to use a caboose. Mostly max four extra movements on a cargo stop at a stations where your train passes and max six extra movements in case you also run around
your train if you get back in the direction you came from.

PS2

Originally posted by CMDR Sweeper:

..........
But yes, if it offered some sort of bonus, it is a different story.
Railroad Tycoon 2's cabooses offered a reduction in train robberies as a result of sacrificing one of the 6 revenue car slots your locomotive could attach, or less if you had less power.

I would love to see a small bonus. Probably a bonus on the deliveries is complicated, because at the moment of delivery you mostly don't have the caboose attached, but maybe a small bonus on 'miles travelled with caboose'. Like the wages of the AI engineers that are calculated in that way (?).

[Wiper]

I'm sure the Devs do some brainstorming concerning the Cabooses usage every once in a while too, so let's have them some bones added ? ;-)

Like some others I think the game could need a hard/core mode. As a first person junkie I'd like ask:
What about a hard mode depending on the presence of a Caboose ? Like:
- Standard Mode: all as usual, no need of a Caboose.
- Hard Mode: If no Caboose is somewhere next to the player ( distance needs to be discussed/defined) switching/shunting/driving is restricted to 1st person mode only. If a Caboose is next to the players area driving/switching can be done in 3rd person view.

How about that ?

[coenvijge]

Originally posted by Wiper:

How about that ?

Don't know if it can be made, but it seems a good and simple 'hard mode' to me. I would like to see something like that in this game.

[LionkingCMSL]

I use a cabin car (PRR's Amtrak's, and SJ&W's term for a caboose) most of the time except for short moves using a switcher.

I'm following era correct practices and some times on short runs, Whittier to Ela for example, the caboose is not needed as the conductor would ride in the cab, especially when using diesels. Also note that some crews placed the caboose right behind the engine during daylight hours to ease switching and they would place a red flag on the rear coupler of the last car. Note that using a flag instead of a illuminated rear end marking device is still allowed today.

Quoting NORAC's (Northeast Operating Rules Advisory Committee) 10th Edition's (effective November 6, 2011) rule 24:
Markers
On a main track or controlled siding outside of yard limits, the rear of a train must be identified by a marker as prescribed below:

a. Passenger Trains, Engines
Passenger trains, lite (sic) engines and engines operating at the rear of a train must:
1. Be quipped with an illuminated marking device.
or
2. Have the rear headlight on dim at all times.

b. Other Trains
Trains other than passenger trains must be equipped with an illuminated marking device under the following conditions:
1. From one hour before sunset until one hour after sunrise.
2. When the visibility is so restricted that the end silhouette of a box car cannot be seen from one-half mile on a straight track.

During other periods, a reflector, flag, or extinguished marking device may be used.

[Imperial Strikeforce]

There is another thread (probably buried at this point) where people shared some good ideas that the devs could implement to make using the caboose actually useful.

If I remember correctly, some of the things I recommended:

Make the caboose the place where you run your business. Have a desk in it where you click on various papers or objects to access your Waybills, your finances, ability to purchase locomotives and rolling stock, accept and modify your industry contracts.

Have a bed in it and that is where you can 'wait an hour' or 'sleep' by clicking on the bed.

Have a mirror to click on and that is how you change your character's clothes/appearance.

Towing the caboose gives you an extra 5% bonus per mile toward all the freight cars in the consist for when you deliver the car to the industry.

There are all kinds of things the devs could do to entice people to want to use the caboose for more than just aesthetic reasons. Of course, none of these things would be mandatory for those who don't want to use a caboose, but more fun and engaging for those who do.

I held on to the caboose for a while in the beginning for nostalgic reasons, but it was in the way and served no useful purpose, so I sold it.

[llgoss]

I run with a caboose, avoid tender first steam operation and main line backup moves because for this era they just don't look good to me.

[kalnaren]

No. Mostly because I sold the one you start with because I needed the track space at East Whittier for storage or runarounds, and right now there's zero advantage to using them.

I've only opened up to Bryson though and I'm not running long trains yet. Doesn't make much sense to me to have a caboose on a 3 car local, even if it is "prototypical". Playing in SP I've got enough work to do, I don't feel like working around the caboose, too.

If they had some actual, tangible benefit to playing I'd consider one. Otherwise it's just dead tonnage.

[jkjcksn]

Originally posted by avgwarhawk:

How many of you play with pulling a caboose and why?

I DO play with a caboose and use mine for my long reverse moves that I make, when applicable. I ride/stand on the platform of the caboose while doing so. I YouTube’d a few informational videos on cabooses, also read up on the use/purpose of cabooses from a few web pages I found, and felt it was worthwhile to keep mine and to use it. I also plan to buy more of them, as needed, for any new engines that I purchase.

[Bohemian Rap City]

I am only at Day 3, but I relocated my caboose in the space behind the Garage/Repair Facility. The problem I have with it on the end of my train is that I spend half of my trip pushing a string of cars or pulling it.

If I am pushing a string of bridge repair stuff for Ela, I'd have to drop it AND the passenger car. If I pit it on the end of the Connelly-Sawmill run it would be a pain to attach after each drop off at C1 C2 and C3.