Mar 28th, 2016: Troop trains

[glatt]

I was on a train in Europe some time ago, and had to use the toilet. I lifted the lid, and saw the ground rushing past in the drain below. The damn thing was just a funnel onto the tracks.

I see this Pullman sleeper uses the same technology. There was no sign in mine, but I guess the unwritten rule is that you don't use it in the train station.

[Carruthers]

Originally Posted by glatt

I was on a train in Europe some time ago, and had to use the toilet. I lifted the lid, and saw the ground rushing past in the drain below. The damn thing was just a funnel onto the tracks.

I see this Pullman sleeper uses the same technology. There was no sign in mine, but I guess the unwritten rule is that you don't use it in the train station.

That was the system in use on trains in the UK many years ago, but at least the designers were considerate enough to include an 'S' bend in the plumbing so the sensitive user was spared the off putting sight of the ground speeding past at 60mph.

Each installation was accompanied by a sign asking the user to 'Please refrain from flushing the WC while the train is standing in a station'.
This, of course, was a target for graffiti artists. It is said that one such sign had the words 'Except at Aldershot' penned in underneath.

In the days of compulsory military service (pre 1961) the garrison town of Aldershot was the first experience many conscripts had of military life. It was not universally popular.