What's with all the wiring on the cabooses in the first and last photo? In the early days of WW2 the PRR experimented with telephone antennas. There was a phone in the engine and in the caboose. The talker's voice was broadcast to telephone or telegraph lines parallel to the track; these lines would act as antennas to get the voice signals back and forth. PRR experimented with antennas on the locos, the cabooses, and on cars in the middle of the train.
The idea was good enough to be worked on and improved, eventually being phased out in favor of radios.
