On passenger trains, the porters, bartenders, cooks, waiters, stewards, and other crew member often shared tiny compartments in the ends of the passenger cars as they traveled on long runs. On freight trains, crew members congregated in the caboose when not out working on the train. An early wooden caboose, like the one before you, would be heated by a wood or coal stove, and would offer the only heat a crew member would find on a freight train, except in the locomotive cab itself. On a cold winter's night, brakemen could be quite reluctant to leave the warmth of the caboose to run out and apply the hand brakes, or inspect the train during a stop at a station. The caboose was headquarters for the conductor.
As boss on the rails, the conductor supervised all the train crew including the engineer. The conductor furthermore gave work assignments on the train, and could order the engineer to speed up or slow down, make an unscheduled stop, or any other command. He was, therefore, responsible for everything that happened on a train, good or bad. The caboose, his center of operations on a freight train, was usually furnished with a table or a desk, a bunk, restroom, sink, and stove for heat. Tools for use on the train were stored in the caboose's cupboards and boxes slung on the outside of the caboose between the wheels. Lanterns hanging from the rear of the caboose served as warning to other trains approaching from behind, much the same way as an automobile's tail lights do today.