Road in one a number of times when is was a kid, my father was a Trainmen/Conductor. Biggest thrill was when I could ride up in the cupalo, top part of the caboose.
Phased out here in the 80's when CN reduced crew size from 4 to 3 and then to 2. Replaced with end of train device. Head end crew would call the approaching signal, tail end would repeat. Mostly to keep everyone awake.
Didn't always work. Feb 8 1986 a CN freight train struck a VIA passenger train headone outside Hinton Alberta.
23 people killed including both head end train crews. The entire crew of the freight was asleep, the Conductor in the tailend Caboose survived.
Yeppers! Each crew had an engineer, two brakeman and a conductor. Union rules, you didn't run a train with a "pegleg" (one brakeman) crew.
One of the concessions the railroads made to the union was, if you let us go to 3 man crews, we'll restrict trains to 75 cars.
Unit coal trains are normally 110 cars.
Unit grain trains can be 90 to 100 cars.
TOFC and COFC unit trains can be over a mile long and have well over 75 cars.
Not sure what concessions were made to who, but trains no longer have an "engineer".
A train crew:
1. Conductor (foreman)
2. Engineer
3. Rear brakeman
4. Head brakeman
No more "engineer". The conductor now runs the locomotive*. Brakeman is still a brakeman.
With 2 man crews, a caboose was no longer necessary. Ergo, F.R.E.D.
In days of "yore", a train crew also had a "fireman" (used to stoke the boiler and learn to run the engine). In 1965, in all their radiant wisdom, railroads cut off all their firemen, basically considering them dead weight.
About 1975, railroads suddenly figured out, due to retirement and attrition, they were WAY short of engineers.
As the oldtimers retired, engineer quality went to hell.
Engineers became schoolroom wonders instead of firemen with throttle experience.
