# Tourist Train



## Mr. SP (Jan 7, 2015)

Southern Pacific had a narrow gauge line in the Owens Valley of California until 1960. The line was steam powered until October 1954
Because the line was narrow gauge and in steam groups were wanting to ride the line. There was no pasenger equipment. SP took five flatcars and made them into tourist cars by adding benches, sides and outhouses. There was to be outhouses on only one car but the car shop foreman mistook the orders and all five cars got outhouses The SP train was the inspiration for my tourist train
My train is three cars and since I had only two outhouses only one car has them. The train is very popular at train shows.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Can you even imagine a tourist train line today being allowed to let people ride on open flat cars and relieve themselves in outhouses mounted on the flat car!

Today, litigation lawyers would be creaming their drawers over that!


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

I guess the outhouses drained right onto the rail when used back then?
Must have been hell being a passenger on them when it rained.


If you want.
Go back and click edit, 
then advanced edit, 
go up to the paper clip and click, 
then click insert all.

The pictures will show as pictures instead of a clickable link.
Easier for all to look at.

You only have a little time to edit them............If you want to.


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

Years ago I toyed with the idea of building a scenic tour train, but never got beyond the brain-smoke stage. Very interesting what you built, especially with the WCs..."water closets".


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## Mr. SP (Jan 7, 2015)

big ed said:


> I guess the outhouses drained right onto the rail when used back then?:


Yes. Back when the cars were in service the outhouses went right to the track
I have a photo in the book "Slim Rails Through the Sand" 
that shows a metal chute from under a outhouse to the track
Couldn't get by with these days.


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

Wouldn't you LOVE to be in one of the trailing cars, with all the splashing and...other things happening!!??


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Didn't all toilet products just drop onto the tacks in days gone by....including passenger car toilets?


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## Mr. SP (Jan 7, 2015)

*To the Track*



Old_Hobo said:


> Didn't all toilet products just drop onto the tacks in days gone by....including passenger car toilets?


In the days before Amfleet and Superliners the toilets in passenger cars flushed direct to the track
There was a sign next to every toilet that read: "Please flush toilet after each use except when train is standing in station"just for the reason that the toilet flushed to the track
I remember using the men's room on pre-Amtrak trains and seeing the ties going by while the toilet was flushing


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Fun scene! Very creative (with a bit of whimsy thrown in)!


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Mr. SP said:


> In the days before Amfleet and Superliners the toilets in passenger cars flushed direct to the track
> There was a sign next to every toilet that read: "Please flush toilet after each use except when train is standing in station"just for the reason that the toilet flushed to the track
> I remember using the men's room on pre-Amtrak trains and seeing the ties going by while the toilet was flushing


We have a PRR cabin car (caboose) from 1926 at the Valley Railroad. Even though it was in revenue service through the Conrail period, the toilet is still just a hole in the bottom of the car. Put your head over it, and you see ties and ballast.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

So the brown stain you see someone weathering in between the rails, is not an oil stain at all?


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

Just another reason why you shouldn't walk on the train track......


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## microbuss (Mar 13, 2015)

Some poorer countries still let the toilets dump onto the tracks 
Or sign in restroom said " Please do not flush while train is in station"
Which you can get that sign as a novelty now


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## Mr. SP (Jan 7, 2015)

The tourist train was a fun project. The cars are Athearn fourty foot flatcar kits. The train is over thirty years old. The cars are weighted to four ounces. The railings are from Plastruct. The seats are from Pacific HO. The outhouses are left over from a wild west diorama I built for someone.
The expensive part was the passengers. There is 130 passengers. They are from Busch, Preiser, Merten with a few from Bachmann and Lifelike.
The train is equipped with Kadee #500 Bettendorf trucks and on the ends Kadee #5 couplers. There is dummy couplers between the cars. The train runs only with itself. The train is very popular at train shows and lots of comments from visitors to the show.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Mr. SP said:


> The train is very popular at train shows and lots of comments from visitors to the show.


I believe it. Very nice work.


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