Taking a Break

Photographer Jack Delano has boarded an Indiana Harbor Belt freight train caboose, catching brakeman Lee High taking a short break. It’s a chilly day in January of 1943, and the caboose gives a place to warm up for a bit.

On the end wall we see a flag stored above the door, and an adjacent rack stocked with a supply of fusees (flares to non-railroaders). Also in view is a tool box, a cardboard box with some spare ankle-high boots, a couple jackets, and what appears to be a brakeman’s club next to the door. And someone has pinned a photo of their pooch on the wall. Imagine what else is in this cabin!

Brakeman Lee High on a Break