[PRCo] Fwd: Flush

[Fred Schneider]

Here are Chick Siebert's comments about toilets on interurbans.    
Remember, the man is retired and in surprisingly fine health but in  
the high end of the 80s.
I only remember dry hoppers on the B&O gas cars  because I started to  
look up the chute on one as a kid and a conductor or brakeman pulled  
me away.   Hell, I didn't know what it was.   It was just a pipe  
under a car and I was curious.   Eight year olds are prone to  
explore ... maybe I was only five.

The Strasburg cars all came with dry hoppers, which were promptly  
closed and replaced by one chemical toilet on each train for use when  
absolutely necessary.   The environmentalists made that necessary.    
As I recall, it was an offended track worker who started the ruckus  
with the environmentalists ... he had forgotten to turn his back to  
the train that passed him.   To me it was sort of analogous to filing  
suit against McDonalds because the coffee was hot.

Begin forwarded message:

> From: csiebert at paonline.com (Chick Siebert)
> Date: November 16, 2005 4:05:28 PM EST
> To: fwschneider at comcast.net
> Subject: Flush
>
> Dear Fred:
>
> In response to your 11/8 inquiry, I have no recollection of the  
> toilets on
> the West Penn cars, or how they were policed.  Apparently I didn't  
> have to
> go while taking that trip.  I do remember the dry hoppers on the
> Northwestern Penna, cars,policed by the conducter with a key, but  
> those
> cars went one-man in summer of 1927, and I don't remember toilet  
> details
> after that.  My one trip on Butler Short Line in 1920 was only from
> Pittsburgh to Elfinwild (next above Glenshaw), and apparently I  
> didn't have
> to go on that occasion either.. And I was only four years old then
>
> Dry hoppers were the norm on steam roads in the 1920's, the flush  
> toilets
> on PRR mainline trains being a bit above the average.  Nobody  
> worried about
> the turds which fell to the roadway at speed..A turd that hit the  
> ballast
> at 45 mph wouldn't survive intact, and environmentalists weren't  
> very vocal
> back then.  Everyone who travelled knew you weren;t suppose to use the
> hopper while in the station, but there must have been violations and
> accidents.
>
>                         Best regards,
>
>                         Chick
>
> Chick Siebert
>
>