Well, as one who is 84, and thus dates back to the GG1, EMD E-6, and NYC Hudson era, us older foikes don't usually have quite the stamina that you Tier-4 youngsters may have. OK? But I do watch my avoudupois (Fr. Sp?). Still fit into a USA 32 wasteline and for the moment (at least) can keep my trousers from falling down with a belt without suspenders.
CandOforprogress2 Some of these conducters date back to the Alco era
Some of these conducters date back to the Alco era
When I lived and worked in La Grange, Westmont, and Downers Grove, summer 1952 and 1967-1970, and spent most evenings in Chicago or Glencoe, I found the Burlington and Northwestern gallery cars comfortable. I liked them.
As a twice-daily gallery coach rider since 1980 (South Shore before that date), I have found them to be quite comfortable, both upstairs and downstairs, for the half-hour ride between home and work, even to the occasional sleeping past my stop.
My observation is that most commuters use monthly tickets or 10-ride tickets with only a handful of cash fares so ticket checks move rather quickly.
Ahh, the Northeast again.....my favorite region to criticize outside of Southern California. You know Dallas Trinity Railway Express uses the honor system for paid tickets so the conductor only needs to randomly climb the steps if they feel like doing it at all (and most times they don't). I can imagine if the honor system was tried in the Northeast how well that would work out with lost revenue. Also far easier to stand in the vestibule at the door and spot check.
The other thing is the conductors and operating crew are a lot younger in Dallas and don't have the waistlines as conductors do in the Northeast because Dallas contracts from Herzog Rail Services. Plus we used the GO Transit tri-level car design which is more comfortable vs the gallery cars Chicago uses.
CandOforprogress2 Many conducters that i know are complaing that they have to walk up and down sets of stairs to collect tickets and since many are older and heaver this is causing back problems. Look in future for a POP system on NJ Transit and MARC trains with these new cars.
Many conducters that i know are complaing that they have to walk up and down sets of stairs to collect tickets and since many are older and heaver this is causing back problems. Look in future for a POP system on NJ Transit and MARC trains with these new cars.
Um, your statement already gives the main reason for this problem, and it's not the double deck cars. It's the fact that many conductors are older and heavier, aka overweight...the back problems have nothing to do with the double deck cars and more with the fitness of the conductors.
A number of the conductors I have seen over the years need the exercise.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
This link shows a gallery car interior: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Nippon_Sharyo_bi-level_passenger_car_interior_hallway.JPG. The conductor stays on the bottom and can see and reach all seats from the one level. A true bilevel car like NJ Transit uses has separate floors and the conductor has to walk both levels, in effect walking each car twice and going up or down a staircase at each end.
You can tell I haven't ridden in gallery cars now.
Thanks, Dave.
In a gallery car, the conductor walks only on the aisle on the main floor. The passengers on the two side galleries reach over the narrow side aisle and hand down their tickets or other proof of payment to the oonductor, who reaches up to receive and return them. The seat-checkclips on the backs of seats on the main floor are replaced by clips on the panels from the soffit over the main-floor seats to the gallery aisles above. Concuctors do not need to walk the gallery aisles.
I write from experience.
The problem with gallery cars is they have two and two or two and three (rare) seating below and only one and one seating above. So that is approximately a 25% loss in capacity, meaning that gallery cars at the most will seat just under 50% more than single-level while pure double-deckers just under 100% more.
davekleppera reason why gallery type double-deckers may be better.
I've been trying to figure this out, but I can't.
Gallery cars result in some of the passengers having to climb less, but surely the conductor has to negotiate the full height difference between low and high level repeatedly in a gallery car just as in a bilevel. Might even be more walking as you effectively have 3 separate aisles in a gallery (but it depends on the pattern that a conductor follows when he takes tickets, because his route may involve 'backtracking' to get back to 'starting position' and it's about as easy to take the alternate route in a gallery upper level as 'deadhead' back down a car aisle).
There's a little more involved with rising out of the gravity well low down, that isn't practically recovered when descending, but I don't think conductors notice. (It is very, very, very little) I would not have been really surprised, though, to find the subject broached during contract negotiations...
A typical case of a company doing more work with less people. Increase a workers load. Increase the bottom line. That's all they care about.
a reason why gallery type double-deckers may be better.
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