Toilets in North American Steam Locomotives?

When you can't go out on a Friday, and nothing's on TV, you tend to think of such dumb things...

Anyway, on some other board posters were discussing the olden days, and how the toilets of F7s were in the back of the engine room and got darn drafty and cold when the shutters were open...reading this, I thought to myself that, except for switch engines, most diesels locomotives (at least in North America) from the beginning had toilets, either in the nose, or behind the cab, or back in the engine room, or whatever. These toilets are usually indicated on interior plans & publications of the modeler/railfan press.
But, I don't recall seeing any such equivalent on North American steam locomotive plans. I suppose, yeah, the crew could have reverted to the system homo sapien sapien has used for 100K+ years, namely squatting over the side, but I can't see that method working while the train is in motion, even if it's only 10mph (and besides, no matter how drafty and cold that F7 toilet got, it's still nowhere near the same as an outdoor toilet break would be during the same climate conditions).

With steam engines you crap on a shovel and flush it down the boiler. or you pee over side or in the coal.

Some switch engines have them too. The MP-15 series locos we had, on the SP/UP have a toilet, inside the main generator compartment, just ahead of the firewall. Only the bravest, or most foolish, would ever dream of "visiting" one of those "terlets"...................

Hi All,

Miracle of Miracles, once again I completey agree with Dutch. And I have the confirmation of some retired steam locomotive engineers and firemen to back that one up. Not too much privacy, but effective.

There is a photo in the RRMPA archives of someone using the coal scoop for that purpose.

GOLDEN-ARM wrote:Some switch engines have them too. The MP-15 series locos we had, on the SP/UP have a toilet, inside the main generator compartment, just ahead of the firewall. Only the bravest, or most foolish, would ever dream of "visiting" one of those "terlets"...................

Only the bravest, most foolish or the most desparate would ever use the "terlet" in a locomotive. You are better of taking a few crew packs and doing your business in the woods!!

Some things never change...

The only time I use the "facilities" is when I'm with a female conductor.

Other times...we got slow boards and back doors for the waterworks. The other...plan, plan, PLAN. Last thing you do before going out the door and the first thing you look for once you hit the hotel.

Why in the name of all that's sacred, can't the union get some CAB CLEANERS on the payroll? For the sake...of decency....

conrail_engineer wrote:Some things never change...

The only time I use the "facilities" is when I'm with a female conductor.

Other times...we got slow boards and back doors for the waterworks. The other...plan, plan, PLAN. Last thing you do before going out the door and the first thing you look for once you hit the hotel.

Why in the name of all that's sacred, can't the union get some CAB CLEANERS on the payroll? For the sake...of decency....

Because that would cost money. You know that railroads do not want to spend money for crew comfort. Heck, if it werent for the unions, all railroads would either have NS's ol' crap in the bag system or no toilets in the locomotives at all.

Hey hey hey.. Pennsylvania's PUC did a nice job in mandating toilets...

The neet thing is how an NS engine with a vacum toilet always seems to be plastered with a sticker from BNSF or UP about an FRA violation in the water closet.

Sir Ray wrote:When you can't go out on a Friday, and nothing's on TV, you tend to think of such dumb things...

Anyway, on some other board posters were discussing the olden days, and how the toilets of F7s were in the back of the engine room and got darn drafty and cold when the shutters were open...reading this, I thought to myself that, except for switch engines, most diesels locomotives (at least in North America) from the beginning had toilets, either in the nose, or behind the cab, or back in the engine room, or whatever. These toilets are usually indicated on interior plans & publications of the modeler/railfan press.
But, I don't recall seeing any such equivalent on North American steam locomotive plans. I suppose, yeah, the crew could have reverted to the system homo sapien sapien has used for 100K+ years, namely squatting over the side, but I can't see that method working while the train is in motion, even if it's only 10mph (and besides, no matter how drafty and cold that F7 toilet got, it's still nowhere near the same as an outdoor toilet break would be during the same climate conditions).

I want to thank you because you just put a wonderful picture in my head. I think it would be funny if a man on a steam engine was trying to crap out of the side of the engine like you said and maybe they got to a train station full of the public sooner than he expected. I wonder how well that would go over on the station platform?

On the way to rescue a stranded locomotive in the middle of the winter, I thought I would just go for it over the side.

Well, 25 miles an hour in the dead of winter with a full on storm...and wind chill...I'd have preferred a pile of coal someplace to take care of business. I'm not sure I've recovered even now...at least, that's my excuse.

Dave Becker

Some firemen might have been reluctant to hand ocver thier shovel wouldnt they ??? after all didnt some fry eggs on them ?

As the expression goes, "where there's a will, there's a way". I'm sure that these salty steam-era railroaders had it down to a science. (Remind me to tell you about the female walk-in requesting the facilities at the B-3 Sub-Station one night, sometime in person.)

David Benton wrote:Some firemen might have been reluctant to hand ocver thier shovel wouldnt they ??? after all didnt some fry eggs on them ?

Oh you saw that film too? I'm trying to remember the name of it. I think it was a railroad someplace in australia.

slashmaster wrote:

David Benton wrote:Some firemen might have been reluctant to hand ocver thier shovel wouldnt they ??? after all didnt some fry eggs on them ?

Oh you saw that film too? I'm trying to remember the name of it. I think it was a railroad someplace in australia.

Well in australia and Nz , your login name would be very relevant to this thread .

I'm not sure where i saw that ,not sure if it was done here and over in the West Island or not .