Caboose #10522 was built by the International Car Company of Kenton Ohio for the Burlington and Northern Railroad (BN) and given the road number 10522. This caboose was part of an order of 50 cabooses delivered between September and November of 1970. The cabooses in this series were given road numbers 10500-10549.
Birth of the Extended-vision Caboose
After World War II, newer rolling stock in the United States became progressively taller presenting railroad crews with a problem. While a cupola allowed a crew to see over the top of a train, it limited their ability to see down the side of a train. This need for a side view eventually gave genesis to the bay-windowed caboose design. The Rock Island Line (RI) is credited with being the first to hit upon the idea of having the sides of a caboose’s cupola extend beyond the sides of the caboose. The Rock Island incorporated this idea while rebuilding part of their fleet giving birth to the extended-vision caboose. Other railroads, including the Burlington and Northern began to order cabooses with this design concept.
