James McKee wrote:
>
> Did the Q have any RPO cars whose doors closed flush with side of the car?
> Excluding the 9900 and 9903.
>
> Jim McKee
>
To the best of *my* knowledge, Jim - you just nailed it. I'm very
familiar with 9903, having been display caretaker in the 60s, and the
flush-sliding-door mechanism was not only complicated to maufacturer,
but was a bit of a hassle to use. The door track was built into the
floor and suspended from the upper sill, and had a half-C track at the
latch end, with an "S" at the other. You had to pop the latch, then
pull the door back into the track at the latch end, then shove, and have
the tail of the door follow the "S" track, then shove it clear to the
drop-catch that would then hold it open against train vibration if you
were making a picjup on the fly. To close it, you had to release the
drop-catch, then shove it up to the S-track, complete closure, and then
beat it until it latched.
Does that explain why they didn't do it again? <g>
Marshall
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