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How many people are in a freight train crew these days?

Is there still a fireman? A conductor? In the old days there was a caboose at the end of a long freight train, which I assume contained a conductor or a relief crew or something (?). What is there now? Are trains ever run with just the engineer and nobody else? And how did crews in the caboose ever communicate with the engineer and fireman, in the days when that existed? I'm mainly interested in American railroad practices.

Public Comments

1. Good questions. When I first hired out, there were still cabooses in use (BN, now BNSF. I'm on my third railroad now). The cabooses served as the Conductor's mobile office. And often the Rear Brakeman was there too. The caboose also served to have someone always at the rear of the train to watch for overheating rail car wheel bearings that may not be visible from the head end. And to restore switches back to the main line position once the train had left the main line. No train may back up until a crew member is at the rear of the train to act as the Engineer's eyes and ears. Someone was always there in the caboose in the event the train had to back up. And finally, the entire train could be stopped from the caboose as a safety measure. But now most main line switches are electric. Trains rarely need to back up. Wheel bearings are the new "Million Mile Bearings". And now Fred can stop the train from the rear. F.R.E.D. is a portable electronic device able to put the brakes into emergency if necessary (Front to Rear End Device). Personally, I don't miss the cabooses. They were kind of a pain. There aren't any Firemen anymore. (That was a coosh job in diesels, huh?) And often just one Brakeman on trains termed as "Locals". Otherwise a train crew is an Engineer and a Conductor. In the days before radios, the head end and the caboose could not communicate with each other. But both crews carried the same set of instructions. Each member had his own specific responsibilities that came with his particular title, Head Brakeman, Rear Brakeman, Conductor, et cetera. And anytime the train had to stop as with to set out a car at a certain town, as one example, everyone knew where to be and what to do based on his title. This is why I've always said, 'You don't get paid for what you do in railroading, you get paid for what you know.'
2. Now days just two crew members usually.An engineer and a conductor.On some local freight service there is a brakeman.We also get students doing training trips along with us from time to time.In the old days before radios they used hand signals to communicate.The engineer also used whistle signals to alert the other crew members.
3. Generally two, The locomotive Engineer and the Conductor, although some trains will go with a trainman if it has lots of work to do!!!