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toilet on loco

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toilet on loco
Posted by Anonymous on Monday, June 21, 2004 11:25 PM
Is it safe to say that all new North American locomotives both passenger and freight type equipped with onboard toilet?

Karn[:)]
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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 12:13 AM
I just have to ask. What about steam engines, no toilet in the cab. Was there something in the tender or did they hang off the side?
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Posted by daveklepper on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 2:17 AM
That is what bushes and forests were for. Not just steam engines, even the famous GG-1!
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Posted by csxengineer98 on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 3:54 AM
well what is your definion of "toilet".... alot of NS power dont have "real" crappers... you just dump in a plasic bag...and as far as toilets on the engins... i dont and wont use them..unless i have to.... at least when i have to make a set off.... and when i do use them for a dump.... i try and "hover"..lol.... some of the toilet compartments are realy nasty..not to mention the toilets themself......you might get something that even AJAX wont take off from a loco toilet...
csx engineer
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Posted by edblysard on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 5:09 AM
Most of the toilets on road power are filthy beyond you worst dreams.
If I were to allow my house cat's litter box to get to the same condition, the SPCA would remove the cat, and issue me a ticket.
Sad, we have laws that express more concern about the condition of a house pet's toilet, than the conditions a train crew has to endure.

Like csxengineer98, I try not to use them.
The bushes are cleaner, the smell and air quality is much better.

Ever have to use a Porta Potty at a crowded place?
Compaired to the "cans" in most locomotives, they are nice and clean.

The fact that most crew members carry a roll of toilet paper in their bag tells you how well these things are serviced.

Ed

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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 6:07 AM
NS used a bag until the late 90's but now all NS units have toilets exept switchers.
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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 9:23 AM
What do you mean?? You use the bushes?????? Do you have to make an emergency stop on the way to use the natural toilet?? How about in the winter? ha ha.
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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 11:09 AM
I don't think I could ever do that bag thing, that's pretty damn sick.

What are you supposed to do with bag when you're done?
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Posted by Mookie on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 12:22 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by rkarn

What do you mean?? You use the bushes?????? Do you have to make an emergency stop on the way to use the natural toilet?? How about in the winter? ha ha.
Pssst - he lives in Houston and works in a yard. Does that answer your questions?

Mook

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Posted by Mookie on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 12:25 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by edblysard

Most of the toilets on road power are filthy beyond you worst dreams.
If I were to allow my house cat's litter box to get to the same condition, the SPCA would remove the cat, and issue me a ticket.
Sad, we have laws that express more concern about the condition of a house pet's toilet, than the conditions a train crew has to endure.

Like csxengineer98, I try not to use them.
The bushes are cleaner, the smell and air quality is much better.

Ever have to use a Porta Potty at a crowded place?
Compaired to the "cans" in most locomotives, they are nice and clean.

The fact that most crew members carry a roll of toilet paper in their bag tells you how well these things are serviced.

Ed
Does OSHA cover dirty potties? Surely we must have some department or committee that covers this for the working people.............???? And when they hired women, did that change anything in the situation, or is it just keep your foot firmly against the door, don't mind the filth?

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Posted by tree68 on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 12:42 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by edblysard

The fact that most crew members carry a roll of toilet paper in their bag tells you how well these things are serviced.

Ed

Hope that TP is camoflaged during hunting season!

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Posted by AltonFan on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 12:44 PM
QUOTE: What are you supposed to do with bag when you're done?


I remember reading an article by a disgruntled NS man, that at first, the crews dumped the bags along the line when they got near the end of their runs. But when the neighbors expressed disenchantment with this practice, NS required all bags to be signed for before trips and turned in upon return.

Actually, until very recently, the toilets in cabooses and passenger cars simply emtied right onto the roadbed. (This is why passenger cars had signs telling people not to flu***he toilets while in station.) I happened onto one of these on an Amtrak train in the mid-1980s.

Dan

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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 1:45 PM
QUOTE:
Actually, until very recently, the toilets in cabooses and passenger cars simply emtied right onto the roadbed. (This is why passenger cars had signs telling people not to flu***he toilets while in station.) I happened onto one of these on an Amtrak train in the mid-1980s.


Yup, I remember when I used to ride the Royal Hudson, the old Canadian Pacific Maroon Coaches would dump right onto the tracks, and that was still the mid 90s.

I remember they would lock the doors 15 minutes from the stations.
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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 3:01 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by daveklepper

That is what bushes and forests were for. Not just steam engines, even the famous GG-1!


Sounds like that could be a SHOCKING experience!!

LC
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Posted by wabash1 on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 6:51 PM
Ns used the bag system in the 90s that is when they took them out then was forced to put them back in. the bag was a orange in color with a NS tag that had a serial number it was recorded who had this number and if it was found by anyone they called the 800 number on there and it was picked up by track men and the employee was delt with.. there was a bucket on the engine that held these bags for dumping at terminal by the shop personell. Now as gross as this might sound. think about what these guys have said about the conditions of toilets on road engines. now take the same little room with a chair that has a hole in it. you place your bag in the hole draped over the seat so its clean do your biz. tie it up and put it in the bucket. cleaned up and ready for the next person. Now think back to a toilet ........full of what ever and the persons who wont sit on it and let it go all over. now which sounds cleaner to go in when you haft to?
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Posted by csxengineer98 on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 7:54 PM
this will give you an idea of what a loco crapper looks like...
http://www.csx-sucks.com/pictures/?2273hole.jpg
keep in mind..this is down in the short nose of the engin....
unless its in a dash 7 GE...and its a small compartment off the electrical cabinet...just as small as the nose toilets...but at least you dont have to duck down all hunched over to get into them....
csx engineer
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Posted by Modelcar on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 8:20 PM
....Well that sure is a good rendition of it and the unkept condition...
Question: Isn't the Union a strong organization.....Why doesn't this become an issue when contract time comes around....? Unions tackle all kinds of problems and I'd think this seems a pretty important one. Surely someone can come up with a sensible solution.

Quentin

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Posted by csxengineer98 on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 8:26 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by Modelcar

....Well that sure is a good rendition of it and the unkept condition...
Question: Isn't the Union a strong organization.....Why doesn't this become an issue when contract time comes around....? Unions tackle all kinds of problems and I'd think this seems a pretty important one. Surely someone can come up with a sensible solution.
lol...union strong..thats a good one.... the csx contract says that a nasty toilet is not a shopable offence....you can refuse to take a unit if the toilet stincks so bad that it smells the cab up...but most of the time they will just send someone out with a can of air freshener..and send you on your way.... only other thing you can do...is switch the power out with another unit ..if the unit is ok for lead...
csx engineer
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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 8:29 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by csxengineer98

this will give you an idea of what a loco crapper looks like...
http://www.csx-sucks.com/pictures/?2273hole.jpg
keep in mind..this is down in the short nose of the engin....
unless its in a dash 7 GE...and its a small compartment off the electrical cabinet...just as small as the nose toilets...but at least you dont have to duck down all hunched over to get into them....
csx engineer


Those pictures are absolutely disgusting, I am amazed that toilets are allowed to get that bad, I can't even picture sitting next to a mess like that for hours on end.

If they are going to be that bad, why even have them on board - nobody in their right mind is going to use them.

YUCK! [xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(][xx(]
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Posted by Modelcar on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 8:31 PM
....Seems like the contract is not addressing the issue strong enough....Can't it be an issue on the table the next time around....

Quentin

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Posted by edblysard on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 9:27 PM
Yeah, lets put it right there, with keeping the RCOs safe....
Ok, just picking.
One of the problems is when a unit ends up at say, my railroad.
We are a terminal road, our locomotives have no toilets.
And we have no facilities to empty, clean and refill the ones on road units.
Now imagine what one of those smells like, after sitting in our loco tie up track for a few days!

All the contract says, after you whittle down the legalise, is that the carrier who owns or leeses the unit must keep it operational, and service it when needed.
It does not define how clean, or how often specificly, it must be serviced.
So the carriers only "fix" it when it gets to the point that a crew can refuse the unit because the toilet has gotten so full as to present a health hazard.
Like CSX said, till then, they give you a air freshener.

Ed

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Posted by Modelcar on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 10:08 PM
...Yea, I hear you Ed...and I am aware of how situations such as this get kicked around...Worked around UAW stuff for years and they are part of the 3 legged stool that makes and breaks the operation......Just fjgured your union might be the leg of the stool to work on the problem.
Wow....Closed cab and sitting in 100 degree heat for several days...That must be a problem.

Quentin

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Posted by Mookie on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 6:31 AM
This is disgusting. Our prisons have better facilities than our locomotives do. We have the ACLU jumping on every little thing...I would think someone would pick this one up - just think of the stink they could raise....(I'm sorry I just couldn't help myself!) But it still doesn't take away from the seriousness of this! This could become a health hazard with new diseases coming out every day!

Mook

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Posted by Modelcar on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 10:02 AM
....I would think employees would want to raise this issue to the house tops....! More crappy situations than this have been solved. Did I really us that word...

Quentin

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Posted by Mookie on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 10:53 AM
Mercy - Q - that doesn't sound like you at all. But you know - the subject may bring out the best/worst in us!

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Posted by Modelcar on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 11:02 AM
....I'll go get the soap.

Quentin

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Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 11:33 AM
And to think that pic is of a clean one. I hated going into the nose to get anything [xx(][xx(]
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Posted by enr2099 on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 12:55 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by macguy

QUOTE:
Actually, until very recently, the toilets in cabooses and passenger cars simply emtied right onto the roadbed. (This is why passenger cars had signs telling people not to flu***he toilets while in station.) I happened onto one of these on an Amtrak train in the mid-1980s.


Yup, I remember when I used to ride the Royal Hudson, the old Canadian Pacific Maroon Coaches would dump right onto the tracks, and that was still the mid 90s.

I remember they would lock the doors 15 minutes from the stations.


All of VIA Rail's Budd Rail Diesel Cars still dump directly onto the tracks. There are signs all over the washrooms on the Budd Cars that say "Please Do Not Flu***oilet While Train is in Station".

Tyler W. CN hog
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Posted by Randy Stahl on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 1:08 PM
A funny thing happend to me on the way to the toilet.... On the older EMD engines ,SD40's etc . The toilet floor is also the top of the traction motor cooling duct for the #1 truck. Some one had done some patching on the floor and left some big holes in the blower duct. I was riding the engine to figure out a loading problem when nature called and since the train was going about 50 mph stepping out side wasn't a good idea. All was fine as I entered the nose and began my job, I notice it was as little windy down there, no big deal, that was until the engineer put the engines in notch 8, a tornado suddenly swept into the toilet room , I was adjusting my position to minimize the mess and found that a 90 degree angle from the toilet worked fine, just had to arc it in.
On another occasion I was riding a train with a high speed wheel slip problem in the middle of the night. The train was slowing for a meet so I thought it would be a good time to relieve my bladder. Little did I know the train would end up stopping on a little rural crossing, with alot of traffic, I didn't expect an audience. Some times you can't win
Randy Stahl
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Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, June 23, 2004 3:21 PM
OOH! thats just plain nasty! Dont they ever clean that? Shoot i'd take a pale a little *** And Span and that toilet will be as good as new!

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