It is believed that the first caboose was created in the 1840s, when a conductor for the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad converted a wooden boxcar into a rolling office. Over time, cabooses evolved to feature steel frames, porches, cupolas, bay windows, and comfort facilities like stoves, bunks, toilets, and desks. These iconic cars were typically occupied by conductors, brakemen, flagmen, and deadheads (railroaders moving from one assignment to the next). The Caboose provided shelter for crew at the end of train who were long required for switching and shunting, and to keep a lookout for load shifting, damage to equipment and cargo, and overheating axles. The caboose also served as the conductor's office, and on long routes included accommodation and cooking facilities. Cabooses were used on every freight train until the 1980s, when safety laws requiring the presence of cabooses and full crews were relaxed. Developments in monitoring and safety technology such as a lineside defect detectors and end-of-train devices resulted in crew reductions and the phasing out of caboose cars. The addition of the cupola, a lookout post atop the car, was introduced in 1863. Coal or wood was originally used to fire a cast-iron stove for heat and cooking, later giving way to a kerosene heater. Now rare, the old stoves can be identified by several essential features. They were without legs, bolted directly to the floor, and- featured a lip on the top surface to keep pans and coffee pots from sliding off. They also had a double-latching door, to prevent accidental discharge of hot coals caused by the rocking motion of the caboose. Tradition on many lines held that the caboose should be painted a bright red, though on many lines it eventually became the practice to paint them in the same corporate colors as locomotives. Cabooses have also become popular for collection by railroad museums and for city parks and other civic uses, such as visitor centers. Cabooses have been reused as vacation cottages, garden offices in private residences, and as portions of restaurants. Also, caboose motels have appeared, with the old cars being used as cabins. As railroad technologies evolved, cabooses eventually became irrelevant. Manual brakes were replaced with air brakes, and radios eliminated the need for flagmen. Government regulations reduced the number of hours that freight crews could work in succession, and thus railroaders no longer slept in the caboose during their shifts. The iconic red caboose eventually disappeared from the railroad altogether. Today, they are only used on trains that transport high-security freight, such as nuclear waste.