Despite what the sign said the public flushed toilets on passenger cars in stations that were enclosed and underground which took away the romance of the old palaces that were train stations in the US and Britain as dirty smelly places in their last days. That because of this some of the public we’re glad to see them demolished.
A few pics of a Pullman toilet:
Well, you’re right, they weren’t supposed to do that. Just how often it happened is open to speculation.
I WAS on a Norfolk-Southern steam excursion where a passenger did just that! We’d stopped in Appomattox VA and as the passengers were exiting the car there was a WOOOSH! and a SPLAT! as the “stuff” hit the ballast. The car host turned red with embarassment (Poor woman!) and ran back into the car and then we could hear a woman wailing:
“But Mother couldn’t wait!” [:$]
What are you gonna do?
Remember the man who was riding the Milwaukee mixed in Wisconsin at age ten? He was sticking his head out the window to enjoy the breeze. Suddenly he felt something wet, though there wasn’t a cloud in sight. Turns out the brakeman was relieving himself from the open door of the baggage section!
When I was riding Frisco trains as a boy in the '30s and '40s (my Dad was an employee) the conductor would lock the restrooms if we were going to be sitting in a station for any length of time, then unlock them when the train started up. Dad said you had to watch where you stepped if you were out in the country on the line somewhere.
Just imagine riding non-air conditioned coach with the windows open when the carrier picks up water in the tender on the fly.
Opening the windows could be difficult to impossible. I can remember seeing a carman at Randolph Street using a crowbar as a lever to open the windows on South Shore’s non-air conditioned coaches on hot summer days.
Balt-ACD: Water-on-the-fly - open window coach:
Usually not a problem with only one baggage, baggage-and-masil. or mail car behinf the tender.
At least the head-end crew had the coal pile in the tender!
Could you please increase your font size?
Things look different on different platforms. When I’m using my android phone I often have to turn it sideways to read an entire post.
Why?
Some of us are old and small print is difficult to read.
I heard a story of a Soo Line Carman getting flushed on while the train was in St. Paul.
Ed Burns
Some of us aren’t THAT old and small print’s difficult to read.
Doing the Ben Franklin thing and sliding the glasses to the end of my nose only works to a point! [8-|]
When riding at open dutch doors I learned to duck back inside when I saw a mist arise from the track under a car ahead.
Well this thread’s officially in the toilet…[:-^]
I don’t know, the moderators haven’t flushed it yet.
Maybe they don’t pay attention to what goes on over here? [:-^]
I would assume that any renovations of old passengers cars for excursion railroads would have to include a holding tank for waste.
I have not complained earlier. Am at age 90. You weill do me a favor by not requiring me to use both my reading glasses and a nagnefying glass.
Thanks in advance,