Toilets on Railtours

Hello Alltogether,

as I have heard so far, Network Rail wants to ban trains with open sewage discharge from their lines. The consequence is that a lot of carriages need retention tanks beeing fitted on (fix costs) and the running costs (emptying the remains) will be also worth noting. Who will pay for the extra amount of work? And is it actually possible to install retention tanks on the old carriages? Isn't it a massive change on an historic carriage? There will be also a higher rate of unusable toilets (Retention tank is full)...

The few charter trains are only a drop in the sea and the extra effort is financially not plausible. Is there a chance, that there'll be an ecxeption for the few railtours on the NR?

The heritage railways will surely continue to use the old end reliable toilets, which are easy to handle on a volunteer run railway.

 

Not sure if this is still the current situation, however, Point 3 - http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/20832/effluent-position-statement-2016-02-09.pdf - "However, we think it would not be appropriate to impose a requirement to retro-fit toilet retention tanks to older stock because the costs associated would be grossly disproportionate (around £10-20K per toilet) to the risks involved."

Will

 

You've obviously never worked on the PW after a toilet has discharged there...


Keith

 

It's not wonderful on rolling stock either. At least you can see toilet paper - excrement is the same colour as brake dust!

 

I have and do.

 

Also I believe quite corrosive - not good for the metal work in the general discharge area.

Tom

 

Perhaps even heritage railways should seriously consider their toilet discharge system, costly and technically challenging but future generations may have less tolerance and will obviously have no memory of trackside tomato plants in the summer.

 

Suitable systems advertised regularly in Steam Beano

 

The sooner railways move into the C21 on this issue the better. There is absolutely no justification for toilets discharging onto the track.

I see that in the most recent edition of the North Norfolk's carriage blog, they are fitting the LNER Thompson brake with the necessary pipework so that fitting retention tanks in future won't be a major issue. http://nnrailway.blogspot.com

 

How about an hourly 'comfort stop'

 

Indeed. When FCC were installing retention tanks on their class 321 EMUs, a lot of welding had to be done in places on the underframe where the metalwork had rusted through. We were so glad when the tanks were fitted, changing brake pads next to the waste pipe was not pleasant. Neither was inspecting the traction motor on the adjacent coach. The motors got very hot and would whiff a bit at times.

 

Reports of bottles being issued to railtour participants on joining the train are FAKE NEWS!

 

With photo runpasts

 

Would make pathing interesting - not many stations have the capacity for a train to lay over for thirty minutes or so while a train load of people use the facilities!

Tom

 

I seem to remember that the GWR only required corridor stock (i.e with toilets) on journeys of over 2hrs. As few, if any, of our heritage lines have journey times even approaching that do we really need 2 bogs in every carriage? Or is the standard British bowel/bladder not what it once was????
Ray.

 

Have you never taken kids out for the day? Guaranteed they want to go to the loo as soon as they've started a journey and that's in spite of being asked if they need the loo just before setting off.

 

Try having IBS, a sensitivity to metformin and polyuria caused by another diabetes medication, as I do.

 

I also have IBS, and I can tell those that don't that there is nothing more likely to make you need to go than being told you can't!

 

Try travelling on Merseyrail. Our Intercity service from Liverpool-Chester has no toilets, and not many stations with toilets either.