From: gl4317@yahoo.com

In article ,
 hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:

> Now, the tricky question.  On old trains, restroom waste was dumped directly
> onto the tracks.  While the train was moving that wasn't a problem, but it
> wasn't good in a station.  Indeed, signs were on toilets asking not to flush
> in a station.  So, what about set out Pullmans, which would be in a spot for
> at least several hours?  Passengers have to go.  Without other means, in the
> morning the siding would not be a pleasant place, especially in the summer.


Track dumping toilets continued in use up until some lawsuits in the
late 1980s forced the issue.

During the 1980s, sometimes cars would be spotted at Union Station here
in Portland for a while.  During the time they were there, there was a
bucket that was put under the dumping pipes.  This had a lid on it with
a mating pipe on it so it wasn't completely exposed to the platform.
However, it was definitely still possible to smell the contents.

In a society not too far removed from chamber pots (say, the 1920s or
1930s) this would probably not have been seen as an exceptionally
unusual method of dealing with things.

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