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  • Which LIRR coaches were supplied with the worst seats?

  • Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.
Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.

Moderator: Liquidcamphor

 #1518412  by bellstbarn
 
Over the past month I have been enjoying the fifteen-minute segments of All the Stations (Ireland) and All the Stations (United Kingdom). Once again today, the happy narrators have boarded a short train of Pacers, built cheaply for BritRail in the 1980's and now about to be phased out. The seats resemble those in the basic U. S. school bus, flimsy, with a back that does not reach the adult shoulder. They are 3+2 bench seats.
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I can recall some basic flip-over bench seats on the LIRR, some even 3+2. They had firmer legs than what I see in the Pacers. If my memory is correct, the LIRR did not introduce 3+2 seats until after WW2 ended. At a later date, the railroad fastened the flip-overs so that one half the car faced forward, one-half backward, presumably to save labor time and repair time.
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So, which LIRR coaches offered the worst seats?
Thanks for helping my memory!

In this YouTube scene the narrators are riding in a Pacer. Link HERE.
 #1518574  by newkirk
 
Crabman1130 wrote: I remember the M7 seats were causing a lot of ripped clothing when they were first introduced.

I don't think it was the seats, but the long arm rests that were ripping suits.
 #1518640  by MACTRAXX
 
newkirk wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2019 6:17 am Crabman1130 wrote: I remember the M7 seats were causing a lot of ripped clothing when they were first introduced.

I don't think it was the seats, but the long arm rests that were ripping suits.
BM and Crabman: Yes-it was the M7 armrests that were the problem...The rubber that was used to cover
them which was a flat type as a handhold along with the distinct angle on the aisle tore trouser pockets
in particular when riders were entering/leaving seats...MACTRAXX
 #1518670  by bellstbarn
 
Note the armrests on these seats inside MP54A 1509 (undated). Whichever way the seat is flipped, the armrest presents that same design. I suspect the troublesome design of the M7 armrests that could catch on trouser pockets may have resulted from airplane thinking, where the armrests between seats jut forward.
Photo of interior of 1509 HERE
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Thanks to Mr. Boland for the photo.
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By the way, what was the purpose of that cord running above the advertisements? Was it to a communication bell? I certainly remember those chandeliers.
 #1518754  by R36 Combine Coach
 
bellstbarn wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2019 11:37 pmBy the way, what was the purpose of that cord running above the advertisements? Was it to a communication bell?
Many buses and trolleys had these cords to signal the operator for a flag stop when a passenger requested to discharge (get off), did any Class I railroads have such?
 #1518760  by bellstbarn
 
I cannot reply about "any" class 1 railroad, but my experience is that you ought speak to the conductor if you want to get off at a flag stop. Boarding westbound at Wyandanch in the steam era, Dad would set a match to a newspaper to flag a train in darkness.
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I notice that Breakneck Ridge on the Hudson Line is a scheduled stop, not a flag stop. A small high-level platform is in planning.
 #1518786  by jhdeasy
 
RGlueck wrote: Thu Aug 29, 2019 8:48 am The only comfortable seats were in the heavy-weight parlor cars of the 1960's. In all other cases, you had utilitarian vinyl seats which were meant to hold passengers, not cradle them in comfort.
I found the most comfortable coach seats on the LIRR were the plush reclining seats in the 4 Budd streamliner coaches that LIRR acquired from the Florida East Coast at the end of 1968.

http://www.dominionrailvoyages.com/jhd/ ... aches.html
 #1518794  by bellstbarn
 
One or two of these Florida East Coast reclining-seat cars were assigned to the 6:29 a.m. out of Jamaica that I rode in late 1969 and through 1970 or so. The passengers tended to be smokers or sleepers, luxuriating in the comfortable seats. I left the train for my job in Hicksville, and Track 2 suddenly became express westbound for a Port Jeff train lurking at Divide. I think many other riders were headed for work in the Central Islip hospitals. The cars were divided in half, and at each end there was etched glass of palm trees on the wall hiding, I think, two wide lavatories with drop-to-the-tracks toilet hoppers. I wonder whether the cars were Jim Crow.
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Also about the same time, we might ride on the Kansas City Southern.
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It was smart to equip reverse-commute runs with these comfortable cars, which did not provide 120 seats per coach!
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The eastbound workers lost their ride on the 6:29 a.m. when electrification schedules cut it back to Farmingdale. I see on September's schedule that an eastbound to Ronkonkoma now leaves Jamaica at 6:24, followed by a 90-minute gap.
 #1518799  by ExCon90
 
bellstbarn wrote: Fri Aug 30, 2019 8:31 pm I cannot reply about "any" class 1 railroad, but my experience is that you ought speak to the conductor if you want to get off at a flag stop. Boarding westbound at Wyandanch in the steam era, Dad would set a match to a newspaper to flag a train in darkness.
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I notice that Breakneck Ridge on the Hudson Line is a scheduled stop, not a flag stop. A small high-level platform is in planning.
I think it's true that the "steam" railroads did not have any means for a passenger to signal for a flag stop in that way; the passenger would notify the conductor (or back in the day when tickets were sold to specific stations rather than zones the conductor would note the destination when he lifted the ticket). The conductor would then notify the engineer by giving him three on the communication cord, meaning "stop at next station." It may be that the cord referred to was used to signal the engineer and would permit the conductor to do so at any time without having to go out to the vestibule to pull the cord there. The Silverliner IV's on SEPTA have a pushbutton above a window on the 2-seater side about the middle of the passenger compartment for just that purpose. In Philadelphia, 49th St. is a flag stop for many trains on the Media-Elwyn line, and I've seen the conductor use that button; the engineer acknowledges with three on the horn--a dying practice.