Caboose Brake Wheel Baseball T-Shirt

The caboose carried a brakeman and a flagman. In the days before automatic air brakes, the engineer signaled the caboose with his whistle when he wanted to slow down or stop. The brakeman would then climb out and make his way forward, twisting the brake wheels atop the cars with a stout club. Another brakeman riding the engine would work his way toward the rear. Once the train was stopped, the flagman would descend from the caboose and walk back to a safe distance with lanterns, flags, and other warning devices to stop any approaching trains. In the 1880’s, the automatic air brake system, invented by George Westinghouse, eliminated the need for brakemen to manually set brakes. As I climbed aboard the old red caboose the brake wheel ca...