Although the caboose has largely disappeared from mainline freight railroading in the U.S., many railroads still find a use for it in local service as a "shoving platform". This allows the crew to reverse direction without having to reposition the locomotive.

The conductor and brakeman of this BNSF local are on the platform as the train heads north through Chehalis, Wash. on the way back to the yard in nearby Centralia after dropping off cars at the Western Washngton RR interchange.

Photographed by Thomas McCann, February 16, 2014.
Added to the photo archive by Thomas McCann, March 9, 2014.
Railroad: BNSF.

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