Tooele in Tooele County, Utah — The American Mountains (Southwest)

The Caboose

Photographed by Jeremy Snow, June 12, 2026

1. The Caboose Marker

Inscription. What Is a Caboose
The caboose was usually the last car of the train. It was a workspace for the train conductor. A conductor had many jobs: communicating with the locomotive, ensuring the train was on time, making sure freight was delivered, checking for fuel and train condition.

Brakemen and flagmen also worked in the caboose. On the Tooele Valley Railway, brakemen hooked cars together and monitored them to ensure that everything on the cars worked, such as connections, wheels, and lighting. By the 1980s, advanced electronic technology replaced several jobs on the train. A crew of brakemen on each train was no longer required.

Cupola
The raised section on the roof of a caboose is a cupola. In the cupola, workers could see down the length of the train and monitor the cars as the train was operating. This was vital in an era before electric signals and computers could tell the engineer that there were problems with the cars.

Tooele Valley Railroad Cabooses
Tooele Valley Railway owned four cabooses. Because they were often built from wood, not many cabooses are around today. Caboose 3 was acquired

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in 1937 from Anaconda Copper, which owned the Tooele Valley Railway at that time. It has a wooden body, steel underframe, and large door on each side for loading freight. The company stopped using Caboose 3 in 1972. Caboose 4 was acquired from the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad in 1957. It ran until the railway ceased operations in 1982. The caboose was built for long hauls across the country and has sleeping areas inside.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical year for this entry is 1937.

Location. 40° 31.856′ N, 112° 17.309′ W. Marker is in Tooele, Utah, in Tooele County. It can be reached from the intersection of North Broadway Street and East Vine Street, on the left when traveling north. Marker located inside the Tooele Valley Museum Historical Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 35 N Broadway Street, Tooele UT 84074, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Wasatch Front,

in the West Desert,

and in Greater Salt Lake.

It is also in the American Mountain West

and on the Colorado

Photographed by Jeremy Snow, June 12, 2026

2. The Caboose Marker

Plateau.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Tooele Valley Railroad Complex (a few steps from this marker); The Powerhouse (a few steps from this marker); The Military in Tooele (a few steps from this marker); Working on the Railway (within shouting distance of this marker); Tooele Valley Railway Depot (within shouting distance of this marker); Railroads in Tooele County (within shouting distance of this marker); Mining in Tooele (within shouting distance of this marker); Tooele Carnegie Free Public Library (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tooele.

The Caboose No. 03 Plaque image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jeremy Snow, June 12, 2026

3. The Caboose No. 03 Plaque

Credits. This page was last revised on June 15, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 15, 2026, by Jeremy Snow of Cedar City, Utah. This page has been viewed 11 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 15, 2026, by Jeremy Snow of Cedar City, Utah. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.