Typically brake vans are associated with UK rail operations. These are usually 2 axle cars with buffers. They had extra weight to allow their hand brakes to slow trains in coordination with engine braking. North American cabooses were more commonly 4 axle and had knuckle couplers. American crews had to walk the roof of the cars and set multiple hand brakes in the days before air brakes. After that they were used for switching crews and to keep watch for "hot boxes" which are overheated wheel bearings among other defects. They could stop the train using the air brake system and usually had a whistle for signaling.
Very nice recreation and garden railroad! I wish the real caboose trains could happen again
Thanks so much! Would love to see em again too!
A wonderful set of cabooses... Or is it 'cabeese.!? lol
Haha, well my kids prefer cabeese, so that works for me. Course, they also do the same for multiple mooses 🫎 🫎 🫎
The plural of caboose is cabeese as any goose will tell you.
@@RockwallCanyonRR lol. English does have it’s oddities.
@@SledgeOfHouseHammer lol. That must be confusing to Moose.
How can I tell if I have break cars or cabooses? What exactly do I look for?
Typically brake vans are associated with UK rail operations. These are usually 2 axle cars with buffers. They had extra weight to allow their hand brakes to slow trains in coordination with engine braking. North American cabooses were more commonly 4 axle and had knuckle couplers. American crews had to walk the roof of the cars and set multiple hand brakes in the days before air brakes. After that they were used for switching crews and to keep watch for "hot boxes" which are overheated wheel bearings among other defects. They could stop the train using the air brake system and usually had a whistle for signaling.
Who made the decals for that alco?
I did them myself on my vinyl plotter. Used the really thin Avery products.