Does anybody out there know if the drop (stirrup) steps on the ends of Canadian freight cars were a mandatory safety item or merely suggested practice? It seems to me that the lack of such steps on interchange cars from the U.S. would present a safety hazard for switchmen in Canada accustomed to the end steps. Did any American roads use these steps?
Also, were there any rules or standards governing the placement of grab irons / ladders on the ends of cabooses and steam locomotive tenders? For example, manufacturers offer steam locomotives for various roads with the ladder on the rear of the tender either to the fireman’s side, the engineer’s side or in the centre. It would seem logical to me that any given railroad would have a standard position for all of its locos while another road might use another position.
What about cabooses? The CNR, for example, placed the caboose end ladders in the same position as was found on any boxcar / reefer / etc., while the AT&SF put them on the opposite side of the end. Howcum?
If it makes any difference, the time frame that I’m interested in is the mid-to-late 30’s, in southern Ontario, with CNR, TH&B and NYC and lots of interchange cars from all over the U.S.
Thanks in advance for any information offered.
Stirrup steps on al four corners of US cars have been required since 1911. By the 1930’s all the cars would have standard end ladder, grab iron and stirrup step arrangements.
Dave H.
I was aware of the standards for steps and grabs: the steps I’m referring to are on the ends of the car (on the “B” end, beneath the ladder that went up to the brakewheel and in the corresponding position on the “A” end). It seems to me that whether or not these steps were useful, the installation of them sort of ran counter to the idea of having standards, since these cars operated in interchange throughout North America. I just wondered if the idea caught on with any American roads, in the same way that safety cabs and ditch lights were picked up by U.S. after being initially introduced in Canada in more recent times.
Wayne