Yes, open window coaches are more fun to ride in behind steam. All of the tourist railroads in my state (PA) and two neighboring states (DE, NJ) use them. You can ride all day trips on the Reading and Northern behind #425 in open window coaches like the one pictured behind #765. But on NS, no such luck. They require that coaches are roller bearing with sealed windows for safety reasons. It's not the 1980's anymore where anything goes (open window coaches with friction bearings on mainline excursions including #765). NS is afraid some fool will have his head chopped off by sticking it out of a window or an arm ripped off. So, they banned open vestibules and open windows on all excursions. I think they banned heavyweights (except Amtrak certified cars like Dover Harbor) in the 1980's, remember the Great Dismal Swamp accident with #611 in 1986? Can't wait though to find out the 2015 NS steam schedule if it happens and they have enough crews to crew the trains. Any chance on a PA revisit? If there are ever any excursions in PA or NJ on freight only track like NS's routes I will consider riding again. My wish would be on the NS lines east of Harrisburg next time, toward Reading, Allentown, Philly or NJ but we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I read posts on FB and elsewhere that FWRHS wants to bring the #765 east again in 2015. Meaning east of Ohio.
