Caboose is the brake van at the back of the freight train. He is also one of Starlight Express 's main villains: he sabotages engines in the race, either by putting on his brakes, so they're too slow to compete, or refusing to use his brakes, so they crash.
Caboose's role has been changed dramatically in different productions, from being a secondary principal role with two solos, to being cut entirely.
Personality[]
Caboose is a cheerful, upbeat, and also two-faced caboose. While his smiles his way through the show with a jolly facade of helpfulness, his loyalty, sanity, and true intentions are later to be questioned.
In 2018, the Bochum production underwent significant revisions for the show's 30th Anniversary. These updates gave Caboose's character a complete rework. He is now sly, money obsessed and known as a dirty player from the start.
Tickovers: He can be seen bringing his hand up into a salute, fiddling with his fingers and adjusting his gloves.
In the 2018 updates he can be seen adjusting his hat, rubbing his hands together, and rubbing his fingers together to signify money.
Story[]
Caboose introduces himself as bright, sweet and helpful in Freight. He races with Hashamoto in the first race, against Greaseball and Dinah, and Espresso and Buffy. But he helps Greaseball take the lead, by slowing down the Bullet Train at the crucial moment.
After Greaseball and Dinah have confirmed their place in the final, Dinah twigs that the race was not completely honestly won. She complains, and Greaseball pushes her away. Caboose catches up with them, as Dinah is told she's on her own. He sings "There's Me" to comfort her and to let her know that she's not alone and that she has a friend in him.
After Poppa wins a spot in the final and nominates Rusty to take his place, Caboose takes Rusty's side and volunteers to race with him. Soon after we catch up with Caboose chatting on his radio, as Greaseball finds him. Greaseball asks who he's talking to, and doesn't like that it's Electra. He threatens Caboose to remember whose side he is on before he and his gang leave. Electra turns up and Caboose tells him his plan to wipe out Rusty, and reveals his sordid past in "Wide Smile, High Style"
The Uphill Final sets off, with all three engines - Rusty, Electra, and Greaseball - sure that Caboose is on their side. Rusty quickly learns the truth, as Caboose throws on the brakes, and Rusty is slowed down to the point that he misses the crucial stage of the race where the bridge ferries the racers up to the top level. Rusty's disqualified. But the race ends in a dead heat, so Greaseball and Electra will have to repeat the head-to-head final.
Rusty complains that Caboose cheated. Caboose gloats, teasing the disheartened steam engine before leaving, finding the damage wrought hilarious.
Later, as the engines prepare for the re-run of the Final, Dinah has reached the end of her patience with Electra, and disconnects him. In a panic, Electra calls for his ally, Caboose, to race with him instead. The race is violent and dirty, with Electra shooting lightning at fellow competitors, and Greaseball trying to steal Caboose as a race partner, uncoupling Pearl mid-race as she derails down a dangerous slope. Electra and Greaseball fight over Caboose, and he causes an enormous crash right before the finish line, resulting in Rusty and Dustin winning the race.
Humiliated by losing, Electra storms out, but in even worse shape is the mangled wreckage of Greaseball and Caboose, who've gone through "One Rock & Roll Too Many".
In Heat 1, Caboose raced with Turnov, prompting mid-80s political discussion of the treacherous RED Caboose racing with the Russian engine. "There's Me" becomes a duet with Dinah taking a verse. His introduction for "Wide Smile, High Style" becomes snappier and clearer, as he tells Greaseball he'll wipe out Rusty, and Electra that he'll wipe out Greaseball. He also is clearly less sane.
- Every hero that you trust, in the end they all go bust!
- Robin Hood kept all the money, Piglet poisoned Pooh-bear's honey!
- E.T. had no flying permit, Donald Duck has eaten Kermit!
- Bambi set the woods alight! And the Red Caboose is not Snow White!'
The Uphill Final staging was also changed, rather than the racers needing to be on the bridge before it moved and the race ending in a dead heat, instead the race devolves into a punch-up, and when Rusty and Caboose pull out into the lead, Greaseball tells Caboose to Brake/Break him. Caboose sends Rusty crashing down the set, to land, injured and unable to continue, and Control cancels the race.
Another change was in cutting Electra's tantrum song "No Comeback", which added Electra to the crash at the end of the Race, making "One Rock'n'Roll Too Many" into a trio rather than a duet.
The London production updated around 1988 to bring the show in line with some elements of the Broadway production, including the re-written elements of Caboose's role, and adding Electra to "One Rock n Roll Too Many" with the others as "No Comeback" was cut.
In late 1992, "The New Starlight Express" cut the role of Caboose entirely as well as cutting Belle.
The role of Caboose was significantly cut down for the 2003 US Tour, and subsequent UK Tour.
The entire scene after Heat 1 was cut, including "There's Me". Caboose's other solo "Wide Smile, High Style" was reduced to simply the dialogue. This meant that the role was small enough to be considered ensemble not a featured role, and lowered the actor's pay grade appropriately.
In 2008, the German production followed the example set by the UK Tour and cut down his role significantly.
They did partially reverse the decision, however, reinstating a shortened version of "Wide Smile", where Caboose initially talks to Greaseball and Gang, telling them his plan to wipe out Rusty. Greaseball threatens him and leaves. Caboose begins to soliloquise, but shortly after, Electra and his Components arrive and dance with him without knowing his plans. The crucial bars where Electra learns of Caboose's plans, which explain his presence, have been cut.
In 2018, the show was extensively re-written in honour of the production's 30th anniversary. This included a complete redesign and recharacterization for Caboose which included a concrete motivation: money.
Musically, all traces of the "There's Me" melody have been cut and replaced by the "Wide Smile" melody. His new introduction in "Freight" is now sung to the "Wide Smile, High Style" tune, naming his game to the audience from the start. His character is reshaped, as he is no longer perceived as sweet and helpful at first. He is cunning, calculating, and easily manipulative of others, knowing where best to insert himself amidst the conflict to "help out" and to make a quick buck. This comes in handy when striking up deals with both Greaseball and Electra, who are both eager to buy his help to throw the race in their favour.
His "deals" with both Greaseball and Electra have been reinstated before his solo number at the beginning of Act Two. Lines from the original London solo, "CB," are also brought back for Wide Smile, with lines added in to reflect his new character and motivation.History[]
Caboose has had two names, depending on the production.
In the original production he was named 'CB', a reference to CB radios. Several examples of CB radio code pepper his lines, including 'ten-seven' and 'smokey bear', which refer to a dead body and a sheriff. CB was present from 1984-1992 in London before being cut.
The Broadway production renamed CB, ‘The Red Caboose’ – or ‘Caboose’ for short – and dropped all references to CB radios. He has been called Caboose in every production since then.
Caboose was completely re-characterized for the 2017 workshop and subsequently the 2018 revisions.
In the 2024 London revival his role in the story was taken over by a new character named "Slick".
Appearance[]
Gallery[]
Role[]
1988 Bochum[]
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| Audition Notices |
2020 Bochum[]
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| Audition Notices |
Cast[]
London
| 1984 - 1986 | Michael Staniforth |
| 1986 - 1987 | Paul Reeves |
| 1987 - 1988 | Robin Wright |
| 1988 - 1989 | Peter Rees |
| 1989 - 1990 | Eddie Kemp |
| 1990 - 1992 | William Adams |
| 1992 - 2002 | (cut) |
Broadway
| 1987 - 1988 | Barry K. Bernal |
| 1988 - 1989 | Todd Lester |
Japan / Australia Tours
| 1987 | Peter Rees |
| 1990 | Hans Johansson |
Bochum, Germany
| 1988 - 1989 | Hans Johansson |
| 1989 - 1990 | Roderick Cloud / Kapa Kitchen |
| 1990 - 1991 | T. Robert Pigott |
| 1991 - 1992 | Kapa Kitchen |
| 1992 - 1994 | Thierry Gondet |
| 1994 - 1996 | Steven M Schultz |
| 1996 - 1999 | Kapa Kitchen |
| 1999 - 2000 | Murray Golding |
| 2000 - 2001 | Rob Fowler |
| 2001 - 2002 | Oliver Rhoe Thornton |
| 2002 - 2004 | Anthony Kirwan |
| 2004 - 2006 | Kapa Kitchen |
| 2006 - 2007 | Craig Perry |
| 2007 - 2008 | Nivaldo Allvez |
| 2008 - 2010 | Ben Draper |
| 2010 - 2011 | Marcel Brauneis |
| 2011 - 2013 | Gordon Gesatzki |
| 2013 - 2016 | Andrew Prosser |
| 2016 - 2025 | Daniel Ellison |
US Tour 1989 - 1991
| 1989 - 1991 | Todd Lester |
Las Vegas 1993 - 1997
| 1993 - 1994 | T. Robert Pigott |
| 1994 - 1995 | Chris Castillo |
| 1995 - 1996 | ? |
| 1996 - 1997 | Ken Romero |
US Tour 2003 - 2004
| 2003 - 2004 | Jeremy Kocal |
UK Tours 2004 - 2008
| 2004 - 2005 | Grant Murphy |
| 2006 - 2007 | Stuart Armfield |
| 2007 - 2008 | Cameron Neilson |
NZ Tour 2009
| 2009 | Duane McGregor |
UK Tour 2012-2013
| 2012 - 2013 | Stuart Armfield |
| Asia 2013 | Austin Garrett |
Fan Theories[]
See Here for Fan theories about Caboose.