Western Pacific 484 was part of Western Pacific's final order for cabooses. Although it had the latest accessories when built, it differed very little overall from the first steel cabooses Western Pacific acquired twenty-five years earlier, including Western Pacific 428 from the 1955 first order. The bay window caboose was developed in the early 1920s and was reported on the Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad in Ohio. Crews found that bay windows let them see farther up the sides of the train, making it easier to spot problems such as dragging parts or derailed wheels, and the design also proved safer than a cupola caboose because slack action at the end of a train could jerk the caboose forward and throw crew members from their seats, sometimes causing serious injury if they were thrown from a tall cupola. Western Pacific adopted the bay window design early, building its first version in 1942, while Southern Pacific discovered bay windows in 1949 and both railroads made them their standard caboose design; by contrast, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe kept the cupola design until the end of widespread caboose use. Built by International Car Co. in May 1980, Western Pacific 484 was a steel bay window caboose measuring 37 feet overall, weighing 49,500 pounds, and was later donated by Union Pacific.