Great Western Coffee Shop

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-65112140

Relevant RAIB Urgent Safety Advice https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1146797/230329_USA_012023.pdf (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1146797/230329_USA_012023.pdf)

I have observed, on the WSR,  some frantic searching for an open door by families wishing to leave the train.

The idea that they could open a door THEMSELVES is obviously too radical. Have even heard complaints "that most of the doors did not open"

No - it is a sign of modern society and what was common place becomes radical.    Same across life - we all learned how to use a slide rule ... or prior to that log tables.

Interesting to compare with buses. I don't remember bus doors ever being openable (or closable) by passengers. Always totally under the driver's control with not even a button to press.

Old enough to remember hopping on and off buses by way of the open platform at the back.  I suppose that does make me really old.

A few years ago I was on the Severn Valley Railway and saw a despatcher frantically running towards a departing train to close a door latch. On old GWR carriages, apparently, the door handles and latches don't spring shut; it's up to platform staff to spot the angle of the handles and close them all. On busy days, it's easy to imagine passengers getting on or off the train as it departs - there's no central locking, of course - and leaving the door unsecured.

I'm a huge fan of old carriages, but I can't help wondering how much longer this kind of 'fail-dangerous' stock can continue to operate.

Banged my head quite severely getting off an MER toast-rack carriage. I blame no one but myself and it didn't put me off riding again. I was much more careful on subsequent dismounts.

The Severn Valley Railway has recently taken their GWR coaches out of public use for that precise reason. There had been an increase of instances where trains were arriving at stations and the doors weren't secured. No incidents fortunately, but if any passenger inside the train had happened to lean against the door then it would have opened. The railway is now going to modify all the locks to prevent the door handle from staying in the vertical position.

If you're interested, there is more information in their latest online newsletter - https://www.svrlive.com/blmay23

They were withdrawn from service in London this century, so it makes you at least 18.  ;D

And I remember when bus drivers used to keep the front door open in summer to get a breeze going through the bus. Not possible now though  :(

During my secondary education (Sept 1967 - June 1974), I was taken to school on contract hire coaches. Although in the last few years an increasing proportion had power operated doors, most were Bedfords built in the 1950s and 1960s with sliding manual doors. If I recall correctly, there was a vertical lever on the inside. I cannot remember if we could open them from the outside! I assume that this was the default for coaches before the mid-1960s, so presumably applied to those used in long-distance fare stage routes.

Thanks for the info! With a sliding door, and with that door being opposite the driver, it's hard to see a safety concern from such an arrangement, unlike a train, where the door is unsupervised and people walk past it while the vehicle is in motion. On the other hand, we let passengers open and close car doors themselves...

I can also remember the open platform buses, they were the norm until the 1970s and one route used them until recently.

I am sorry to have missed the Paris open-backed buses… https://youtu.be/4s7oKmBloJk

"Hogwarts express services suspended over safety fears"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-66271357 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-66271357)
Somewhat related ?

On a related issue.  I recently visited the North Norfolk Railway during their vintage week.  I have recently had a hip replacement so I am not yet fully mobile.  I travelled first on a 1960's train.  I found this difficult to climb into and out of as the steps were narrow and like a ladder.  I travelled back on a Victorian train which had wide running board and was much easier for me to use.  That's progress!

Could Scotrail benefit from this if it is long term? (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=27694.0)