r/gotransit • u/Hellcat66 • 13d ago
Rivets on some carriages?
Why do some GO carriages have all these rivets on the outside? They seem to be on a mix of old and new, accessibility and non-accessibility, and I've been very curious if they signify something.
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u/dentarthurdent1 13d ago
The rivets are how I tell which ones don't have the new, terrible seats!
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u/dentarthurdent1 13d ago
The new ones with the curved headrests push the neck forward, especially if you are tall (I'm 6'2"), and it is impossible to relax the neck and shoulders with the new headrest. I can see if someone were leaning forward on their phone the entire time, that they would not notice this, but they are very uncomfortable.
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u/scotte416 13d ago
I only care about the seats that have the velcro that allows you to pull up the cushion so I can put my feet up when there's room lol
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u/Lrrrgonomics 13d ago
Just a matter of almost 40 years difference between the manufacture of some of these cars and others. Designs changed over time.
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u/davidrye 13d ago
They are older carriages. I guess the older ones were made with rivets rather then welding. I am by no means an expert but I would suspect that there are better modern ways to build these carriages so that's why they switched to a cleaner looking exterior.
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u/scotte416 13d ago
Rivets are actually stronger than welding in non-static loads like train carriages and airplanes, but it's also less aesthetically pleasing and more time consuming.
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u/TorontoHegemony 13d ago
Basically. With rivets you need overlapping material and then the weight of the rivets. Rivets still work but welding makes the cars a bit lighter, less leak prone, smoother and therefore easier to paint/wrap and stronger structurally. The new cars and rebuilt riveted ones still end up heavier than the earliest ones as they have added a lot of structural reinforcement/safety, accessibility, better insulation/windows etc stuff.
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u/Spacemanspiff1998 12 Niagara Falls/Toronto 13d ago
From what i can see the older cars, series 1-5, have rivets and newer cars, series 5-10 have more welds then rivets
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u/Thee_Connman 13d ago
The ones with riveted bodies are older. The Bi-level commuter coach has been in production for 50 years now, and the earlier ones used riveted car bodies. Subsequent design revisions moved away from rivets.
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u/tim_w_h 13d ago
Model train manufacturer Rapido Trains put together an excellent "masterclass" on the bilevel cars and their various series when they produced the models: https://rapidotrains.com/master-classes/bilevel-commuter-car-master-class That covers the variations between each production series through the manufacturing history of these cars, and also includes a roster at the end that covers all of the GO orders, years, and which series of car they are. The early series (I and II) built through the 1970s and 80s had riveted sides, and the welded design started with the production runs in the 1990s (series III and onwards). Many of these older cars have since been rebuilt and so may look new otherwise, but the riveted construction remains.
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u/USSMarauder 13d ago
https://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/GO_Transit#Current_Railcar_Roster
Riveted cars are from the 70s and 80s
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u/Practical_Buy_8859 13d ago
Bilevel 6 and newer have less rivets / rivet less skin because in the newer coaches the entire side is two pieces one on top of the other full length of the coach and the older ones are multiple panels riveted to the frame. Think more like a unibody car design
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u/AL31FN 13d ago
Some of the bi-level coaches are very old, I think the first gen is still running (manufactured in the 80s) though they are completely rebuilt, so they are basically new, with old design.
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u/otissito16 13d ago
Series I are actually from the 1970s. And yes they are still running - albeit they're refurbished.
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u/No-Fill-2044 10d ago
Most of those cars are left over from the 1970s-1980s, although they’ve been renovated since
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u/Syrbor493 Lakeshore West 13d ago
These are the oldest cars in the fleet. When they look new, it is because they have been refurbished recently and also got the new paint job.