Sometimes cabooses contained quarters for passengers to sleep in and live in on trains when they were scheduled to take very long journeys. While such quarters were small, they were adorned with pictures to give them a decorative appeal.
The first cabooses were basically small houses placed on flat freight cars of the train, or boxcars which were altered to work as cabooses. Whichever form was used, they always had grab rails on platforms on both ends of the car. These existed so that conductors and other crewmen could climb onto the moving train if necessary.
Stoves were also used on cabooses. Both wood- and coal-burning stoves were used. They provided heat, along with being a place to cook meals and make coffee. Later, kerosene stoves replaced them. They were always bolted to the floor and had two latches on their doors as well. These safety features kept the coal or wood pieces from escaping the container as the caboose moved during travel.
Cabooses also had what were called markers. These were simply red lights placed at the back end of the caboose so that any trains traveling behind could know that another train was in front of them. Without such a feature, the trains could have crashed into each other in the dark.
Lighting on cabooses was originally provided by oil or kerosene lamps. After electricity went into practical use, electric generators took over. Generators operated through the use of belts connected to the car's axles. As the axles turned, they charged the generator's battery, which lit the bulbs in the car.