What, if sanything, stands safety-wise on larger railroads, about open air cars. Especially passenger-modified gon style setups, or transfer caboose style modifications, with a carbody in the center and open on either end. Others I don’t know of are welcome too. I’m aware of the car done for aMRR article on how to do it, but I can’t imagine them being popular anymore, risk of passenger overboard.
No experience with the FRA, but there are no heavy Transport Canada restrictions on open air cars. Here are two examples from my neck of the woods. The first built on a 52’ flat for the Kamloops Heritage Railway and the second a restored CPR open car used on both Royal Hudson (2860) excursions and RMR’s Whistler Explorer.
I suspect the FRA or ICC never set forth any rules or regulations about it. At one time it was fairly common for passenger trains that went thru a scenic area to have an open observation car, like CP did at least into the 1950’s when going thru the loop at Yoho. As noted, they were common on fantrips too. I think it would now be more of an issue of insurance rather than problems with regulations. Most railroads wouldn’t want the risk, but I know a few tourist roads still use them.
I doubt cars were much more open than as pictured below, with sightseers/picnicers standing on a flat car over a tall wooden trestle:
The picture was taken over San Pablo Creek, near Orinda, CA. The California & Nevada railroad ran for 22 miles from Emerville to Orinda (Bryant Station). Its principal revenue was from weekend tourists, and it failed in 1899. The California and Mt. Diablo Railroad, its predecessor, built the first 10 miles between Emeryville and Richmond. Despite the implied limited goals of its title, the C&MtD planned to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains over Donner Pass and connect with the D&RG in Utah. C&N’s goals were never closely achieved either.
The ATSF acquired the right-of-way between Richmond and Emeryville in 1903 to gain access to Oakland.
Mark
The NS retired all open air cars following the Great Dismal swap derailment where several examples rolled on their side down an embankment, fortunate for all concerned no passengers were aboard, it should also be noted these cars were not equipped with tight-lock couplers. No doubt casualities would have resulted had the cars been occupied from passengers being ejected.
Dave
I had forgotten that one.
The CNR had a bunch of such cars, used on trains running through the Rockies. Now that you know that they’re probably legal to use, [;)] it’s not difficult to build one, at least in HO:
The car is the Rivarossi coach with some window sections removed (both sash and “glass”). I also removed the doors and vestibule end walls, and all of the partitions at the ends of the “glass”/roof assembly. The frame around the end doors was left intact, then I added some railings/gates at each corner (etched brass roof trim, I believe, from SS Ltd.) The safety railings on the sides of the open-air sections were formed from brass wire, soldered together. I also added a few wire grabirons and an electrical conduit along the top of the roof.
Wayne
Sigh ANy thread earnign pictures from wayne is a good thread. I was thinking first to start with a DRGW stle I saw someone do, they just started at the end, and whacked out the next to window sides, skipped one, out went the next two, etc. But I do want to do dualing open platforms like that at some point.
Thanks guys, it may be a while still, bit I’ll add the open cars to the list of projects.
Many tourist railroads run open cars on thier trains. The D&RGW used open cars between Durango & Silverton as far back as the 1960s and probably earlier. They are still used by the Durango & Silverton Ry. today. One of the ex CPR open cars was owned by the Orange Empire Trolley Museum and used on mainline excursions before Amtrak. I rode this car on a fantrip to Barstow,and attched to the San Joaquin Daylight to Bakersfield.This car is now on the Sierra Railway.
I have only recently started delving into the Model Railroader forum, and I am really enjoying the discussions and especially the photos.
CNR began rebuilding their cars with open observation platforms in the late 1930s. The open platforms were turned into closed solariums. It seems that the open platforms saw little use, with the weather being too cold to sit outside in the winter and the ride too dusty in the summer.
Scott
Welcome to the Forum, Scott.[#welcome]
The CNR’s ten “Mountain Observation” cars, mostly ex-Canadian Government Railway cars built in the late 1800s, were converted to open cars in the '20s. In 1943, four of the CGR cars were closed in again, along with one car each originally from the Canadian Northern and the Quebec & Lake St. John, becoming WTCs (Workmen’s Train Cars). The remaining four cars, all ex-CGR cars, don’t show any such notations, and didn’t lose the Mountain Observation names assigned to them until 1954, suggesting that they remained in the open configuration until that time. At least one of them, Mount Resplendent, still exists as such, at Heritage Park, Alberta.
Wayne
A few of years ago I had the pleasure of riding a excursion train on the Port of Tillamook Bay Railroad from Banks to Tillamook and return. There was several passenger cars and a open gondola. The gondola had seats in it and each end was equipped with a short diaphram to allow access to the passenger cars.