Getting from car to car on an Amtrak train. - DESCRIPTION" "Getting from car to car on an Amtrak train.
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If you haven't been on a train before, you might be wondering how you safely
get from one train car to another while the train is moving.
The Superliner Train Cars allow passage between cars only on the upper
floor. You cannot move from one train car to the next from the lower level.
There are sliding doors at the end of each train car. In the Superliner,
these are operated automatically from a button push. There is a large
button on each door near the door handle that is labeled "Press Here". A
simple press invokes a motor to quickly open the door for you. Like an
elevator door, it will automatically close a few moments after you pass
through the door. Don't worry about getting clobbered by the door. Like
an elevator door, if the door bumps into you it will automatically re-open.
If your hands are full while you are trying to get through the door, no
problem. Just kick the door, but do it gently and accurately. There is
also a big button near the base of the door that also says "Press Here",
specifically designed so you could open the door with your foot!
Whatever you do, NEVER walk between train cars with either bare feet
or just in your socks. For saftety, always wear normal shoes on the
train. Individual Train Cars are attached very closely to each other.
The passageway is covered by a seal to keep out the weather and to
keep passengers from tumbling out between cars. However, there is
about an inch between the two car platforms. Not enough room
for a shoe to get into, but plenty of room for a toe to slip into!
If the two adjacent train car platforms moved closer while your toe
was between them, you don't even want to think of the results.
Thus, you are required to wear shoes when moving about the train so that
you leave the train with just as many toes as you came on with!
But, don't let that scare you. People barely notice the transition from
car to car. People well into their retirement years are soon navigating
back and forth through the train like old pro's at it! Come to think of
it, most of the old pro's at this are retirees.
One last little warning if traveling with children: Make sure they always
are wearing good shoes when moving between train cars and not just soft
bottom slippers. Also, make sure they don't play in the passage between
train cars. The train is a fairly safe place for children, but the
space between cars is not the place where anyone should loiter. I've
even seen adults that could not resist the temptation to "surf" the
corridor by placing one foot on each train car and just standing in
that space.
Wonder what trains had for passengers before automatic doors?
I've seen many prior designs that were used. The Pacific Parlor Car on
the Coast Starlight is a train car out of a past generation of trains.
Thus, they have an older door mechanism. I've see doors that manually
slide and doors that swing open into the car. I just saw an older
generaltion of the automatic sliding door on a Pacific Parlor Car today.
It is a slider like the new doors, but much slower. I had to stand and
wait for a few seconds after pressing the button. Normally they just
open immediately after you press the button with almost no delay at all.
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This page last updated: 11/19/2005
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