>>1019736They're called transfer cabooses. Don't know much about them myself so I'll let someone else say more
>A transfer caboose was a car that was mostly used in large cities such as Chicago. The caboose was not fully furnished such as a road caboose, which would have had bunks for crews to sleep in as well as toilet facilities. It would be used for trains (transfer jobs) that deliver interchange traffic between different railroad yards. This caboose was also used regularly on jobs that serve industries or in areas where lengthy back-up moves existed---again, such as Chicago.......>Rock Island had some transfer cabooses in Chicago (Blue Island, I believe) that were rebuilt from old boxcars. The only changes they made to the boxcars were to fill in the sidedoor with a wooden false wall, that also had a two foot wide door for access. Don't know what they did to the accomodate the interior. There were no end platforms. No cupola either - just a pair of "park bench's" (sorry, no seatbelts) bolted to the center of the roof! 