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Toilets In Motion — Train Toilets
U.S.A.
In the 1970's the U.S. federal government nationalized
most all passenger rail service in the United States,
forming Amtrak.
The resulting trains are nice inside, and along the
East Coast they keep to useful schedules.
These, however, are from The Cardinal, which links
Chicago and Washington loosely approximating a
three-times-weekly schedule.
At least the stainless toilets are fairly nice!
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A toilet in one of
Amtrak's high-speed Acela trains
running between Boston and Washington DC.
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A toilet on a
MARC (Maryland Rail Commuter Service) train
between Washington and Baltimore.
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Turkey
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Turkish 1st-class yataklı vagon,
or sleeper car,
on the Pamukkale Ekspresi
between İstanbul and Denizli.
Note the distinctively Turkish (and somewhat intrusive)
thin copper line providing water in lieu of any
disposable dry abrasive.
It's controlled by the valve immediately to the user's
right, thus leaving the left hand free for, uh,
the sort of activity that means left-handed eaters
are viewed with horror in the Middle East.
This image is from the late 1990's,
see the three below for recent Turkish train toilet
developments.
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The Pamukkale Eksprsei in 2004 —
Turkish toiletology had changed significantly in the
past four years!
The toilet itself is largely unchanged.
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Flush it!
On board the Pamukkale Eksprsei in 2004.
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This was the strange thing in 2004 —
Turkish toilets, even on board
the Pamukkale Eksprsei, were largely equipped
with toilet paper!
OK, fine, a dumpy hotel that calls itself an
Otel and doesn't really cater to
foreign visitors was still uncontaminated by TP,
but changes were underway.
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Also the Pamukkale Ekspresi overnight train
between İstanbul and Denizli,
but this is in a second-class coach car.
And back to 2000 or so.
A toilet compartment built largely from stainless steel.
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This is from the Izmir Ekspresi
overnight train between Ankara and Izmir.
A somewhat downscale overnight train,
as Turkish trains go,
but still a nice way to travel.
Note the great similarity between this toilet and
the one from the Pammukale Ekspresi above.
Basically the same cars, the first-class
yataklı vagon.
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The toilet in the fabulous Ankara Ekpresi
overnight train running between İstanbul and Ankara.
The first-class yataklı vagon
(sleeping car) is the nicest overnight train
I've ridden anywhere.
Brand-new high-tech sleeping compartments,
comfortable beds, these clean toilets,
and even a shower at one end of the car!
The service is fantastic — each compartment has
a refrigerator with a bottle of mineral water and
a box of juice, plus a candy bar, for each passenger.
A nice ride for about US$ 35.
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Egypt
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Egyptian rail passenger car
on Aswan-Luxor-Cairo route
paralleling the Nile.
Although this was an express train,
and thus far superior to local service,
there was something dreadfully wrong here.
No Egyptian train toilet is supposed to be this clean!
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People's Republic of China
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This is surprisingly non-nasty, but it is
an elite train frequented by
decadent Capitalist Roaders.
This is from the express train linking Hong Kong
and Guangzhou, P.R.C.
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This similar design
(minus the theoretically non-slip foot pads)
is from an overnight sleeper from Guangzhou to Guilin.
It's also surprisingly non-nasty, but it is
from the "soft sleeper" car.
Yes, in the allegedly classless socialist wonderland,
trains have classes!
Note the handy two-handed handle,
necessary for use when traversing those
irregular tracks!
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Russia
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Russian passenger car on Moscow-Sankt Peterburg line.
Many Russian train toilets have weak or broken springs
on the trapdoor at the base of the bowl,
providing a view of the tracks rushing past underneath
and a refreshing breeze.
No TP, just a wire brush in a small bucket....
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Latvia
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Latvian passenger car on the Riga-Tallinn line.
Note the footpads — most Soviet rail cars
were built to all-USSR standards,
hence this feature for Central Asian use.
Lower the seat and it's a raised throne.
In the configuration shown, it's an elevated squatter.
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The tricky part is staying perched up there
as the train sways through erratic Soviet-era
rail joints, especially on the largely unmaintained
Russian rail lines.
The exposed plumbing may provide adequate hand grips
for those trying these advanced techniques,
although I someone in
in our group working at the hospital in
Sankt-Peterburg
was sent flying,
with semi-disasterous results,
during just such an attempt.
France
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This is a Toilette a Grande Vitesse,
or a High Speed Toilet,
found on the TGV or Train a Grande Vitesse,
the High Speed Train running through France.
Before leaving my seat, my GPS had synced up
and was indicating a speed of 305 km/hour.
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This is the toilet on an older regional train
in France,
running between Toulouse and Avignon.
Old-style train toilets with no holding tank,
where the flapper valve opens into a 10cm diameter pipe
dropping straight onto the tracks.
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This is the toilet on an newer RER regional train
in France,
running between Marseille and Béziers.
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The Belgian Thalys trains are similar to the French TGV,
and connect Belgium with France and the Netherlands.
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A Sani-Flush blue border indicates a toilet that I've used.
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If you're not bored yet, you might be interested
in (or at least tolerate):
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