So they really did use that back door. All this time I thought it was more or less like a hood ornament. This was taken at Glenwood Springs, CO on the D&RGW.
Wow! Thanks
Now THATâS something I never expected to see! I thought those rear doors were just emergency exits and never used for any other purpose.
See? Itâs a wasted day if you donât learn something new!
If it is on a train/car/locomotive - per the FRA - it must be operational.
As I recall the MILW Skytop Observation cars ran afoul of a requirement to have ârearâ exit on the cars.
That happened in Canada too some time after CN bought them, which is why they were retired and never made it to VIA.
So that explains the strange exit window they have now towards the rear of the car. So why didnât the Milwaukee fix that? Was it grandfathered in or is that Exit window use newer technology that was not available back then?
Just curious.
Photos of the door I have seen show a bar across the back door. It looked like it needed to be unlocked from the outside.
I could be mistaken, I believe the requirements being applied to the Skytop cars happened AFTER the start of Amtrak, thus MILW was out of the passenger business and I believe the cars had moved on to the CN by that time. What the Canadian regulations are, I have no idea;
How does the term âmafiaâ apply?
Itâs slangâŚ
The Mafia prefers sometimes to enter from the rear of an establishment if they can because they want the best view with no surprises when they enter an establishment or space. Also entering from the front if there is a line out front, everyone sees you in the line and your more exposed. Take a table in an establishment as far in the rear as possible with a view of the main entrance door and a wall at your backâŚI think that is where it comes from. [:D]
2 Likes
âURL signature expired.â
We canât see your media link.
Scenic picture with the back of the California Zephyrâs round-end observation car.
Oh! When I read Mafia I assumed it was used to dispose of dead bodies off the back of a moving train!
1 Like
No, thatâs what the New Jersey Pine Barrens are for!
Or the Hackensack Meadowlands.
Or the Passaic River.
Or places none of us know about! [:O]
1 Like
Ah, yes --The Hoffa Conumdrum.
1 Like
Here I was thinking Danny DeVito and âThrow Momma from the Trainâ.
There were some railroads that owned streamlined observation cars that had a rear door and diaphragms, so that for example, in a pinch they could add a car or two to the rear of the train without needing to do extra switching to keep the observation car in the rear.
B&O bought four of the C&Oâs square end observation cars - Nappanee, Wawasee, Dana and Metcalf by their B&O car names.
Nappanee and Wawasee were assigned to the Capitol Limited without diaphragms. Dana and Metcalf got diaphragms fitted to their observation end and were use on the Ambassador - between Washington and Detroit. Most of the year the Ambassadorâs equipment was hauled in the Capitolâs train between Willard and Washington in both directions, and operated on its own schedule between Willard and Detroit in both directions.