It’s always exciting to spot some Cabooses.

Until the 1980s, laws in the United States and Canada required all freight trains to have a caboose and a full crew, for safety.

Technology eventually advanced such that the railroads, in an effort to save money and reduce crew members, stated that a caboose was unnecessary, since bearings were improved and lineside detectors were used to detect hot boxes, and better-designed cars avoided problems with the loads.

The railroads also claimed a caboose was also a dangerous place, as slack run-ins could hurl the crew from their places and even dislodge weighty equipment.