Union Pacific Cabooses
This page was last updated on February 10, 2012.
Caboose Book
In December 2002, the Union Pacific Historical Society published "Cabooses of the Union Pacific Railroad", by Don Strack and Jim Ehernberger. Click here to go to the UPHS web site for more information, including how to buy the book.
Caboose Update — What's new on these caboose pages.
Current UP Caboose Fleet (as of January 2002)
UP Caboose Painting, Lettering & Numbering
UP Wooden Cabooses — Narrative text for all of UP's wooden cabooses.
UP Steel Cabooses — Narrative text for all of UP's steel cabooses.
Steel Maintenance of Way — Information about the steel cabooses that were converted to non-revenue maintenance of way service.
Special Service Cars — Notes about special cars that started out as cabooses.
Caboose Rosters
UP Wooden Caboose Rosters — An index page for an edited and updated version of the wooden caboose rosters from the UP caboose book, plus additional information that didn't make it into the book.
UP Steel Caboose Rosters — An index page for an edited and updated version of the steel caboose rosters from the UP caboose book, plus additional information that didn't make it into the book.
Connecting and Competing Roads
- Western Pacific — Western Pacific's first steel cars were built in 1955 through 1956. Numbered as WP 426-460, these 35 cars were the first of a total fleet of 61 cars, all built between 1955 and 1980. Of those 61 cars, 59 were still on the WP roster when it was merged with UP in 1982.
- Missouri Pacific — Missouri Pacific Railroad merged with Union Pacific and Western Pacific Railway on 22 December 1982. At the time of the merger, MoPac had 651 cabooses, including 407 bay window cabooses, 208 cupola cabooses, and 36 transfer cabooses. Based on the cars' characteristics, UP assigned caboose classes CA-19 through CA-35 to these 651 cars.
- Missouri-Kansas-Texas — Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad merged with Union Pacific Railroad on 12 August 1988. At the time of the merger, MKT owned 58 cabooses, MKT numbers 6, 24, 61, 74, 100-142 (except MKT 113, 125, 131 and 135), and MKT 200-215 (except MKT 201).
- Southern Pacific — SP had an eventual total fleet of 265 steel cupola cabooses, all delivered in 1940-1942 as the C-40-3 class. In 1947 SP received the first of a total fleet of 974 steel bay window cabooses, in three classes: 180 in the C-30 class (new in 1947 and 1951), 412 in the C-40 class (new in 1961-1967), and 392 in the C-50 class (new in 1968-1980).
- Denver & Rio Grande Western — D&RGW had 91 steel cupola cabooses in the 01400-01490 series, and 25 later wide-vision cupola cabooses in the 01500-01524 series.
- AT&SF, Great Northern, Northern Pacific, CB&Q
Photos
Union Pacific Steel CA-3 Caboose Photos — Three photo albums of 67 photos of UP 25007, a CA-3 steel caboose displayed at Lodgepole, Nebraska.
Union Pacific Caboose Photos — A set of photos of Union Pacific Cabooses, taken by John Pack. (Railroad Pictures Archive.net)
Sources and Acknowledgments
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