Where does a mainline railroad engineer take a c**p at?

Question

Ok here's a odd question for all you USA, railroad engineers.

Since up until the confort cabs came along, like the new 44W's AC/DC units. I know the Gp's, a older SD 40's didn't have a toliet. Where did you guys c**p? In a black plastic garbage bag? lol

Answer 1

They had something that looked like a toilet in the nose of the engine, but most of them held it untill they got to a station or could find their way back to the caboose.

Answer 2

You laugh about the black plastic garbage bag.  Up until a number of years ago, a major railroad here in the U.S. used to issue you a numbered bag and you had to return with that numbered bag, loaded or not loaded, because there were no toilets on the engines.  That's no BS.  The unions finally sued the RR and they got toilets on the cabs.

Answer 3

Wait till you have to walk down 2 miles to the end of the train and use the tracks.

Otherwise, my buddy who works on freight trains advises that you used the nose cone in an emergency, and went before you took your ride usually at the station while waiting to board with the relief crew.

Answer 4

Yeah they had toilets down in the nose compartment.Ida rather been attacked by a rabid beaver than sit on one though.

Answer 5

Toilet in the nose. Kinda an unwritted rule that you don't drop a deuce on the lead unit. As a courtesy the Cond or Engr will go to a trailing unit to set one out.........

Answer 6

Haha, wrong there, as a matter of fact those units you mentioned all DO have toilets, very similar to the chemical holding tank toilets in RVs.



They are usually pretty gross, I sorta feel sorry for female RR employees, the dont have the options open to them we do.

(the toilets are optional equipment and I remember seeing a some locos that truly had nothing more than a stool over a 5 gal bucket with a garbage bag so in some instances you are correct.)

but we really dont ever have to go, engineers are much too busy to spend our time pooping about.

we always wait until we are off duty. dumping on company time would be stealing time.

And even if we did, our chit dont stink anyway. :-)

edit to Ken: I'm thinking you must not have worked with some of the crusty hard headed old rear brakemen and conductors I did, never in a thousand years would they let someone board "their" caboose and take a dump.