"All doors will not open"

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Tracktwentynine

OBS Chief
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I've taken Amtrak quite a bit this year, and one phrase I've heard a lot is quite irritating. Conductors often say, "At the next stop, all doors will not open. Exit where you see a uniformed member of the crew."

What the conductor means is that the platform at the next station is not long enough to accommodate the entire train, and therefore, only some cars will have doors opening. If you don't see a crewmember, you should move to a different car to exit. Since I hear this exact phrase frequently, I think Amtrak must train conductors to say it this way.

But what the conductor is actually saying is "At the next station, NONE of the doors will open."

The correct phrasing would be "Not all doors will open."

I've always found this frustrating. I wonder how this phrase got started, and why it persists.
 
I've heard that a number of times, and pointed it out to at least one conductor (who, to his credit, did announce it correctly at the next stop).
 
A few stations as an example are KIN, WLY, MYS, NLC, and OSB. They don't open all doors at those stations but I believe that's how the conductors are trained to make the announcement. Talk to Wilmington. :lol:
 
What the conductor means is that the platform at the next station is not long enough to accommodate the entire train, and therefore, only some cars will have doors opening.
Actually it can also mean that they don't have automatic doors and that therefore a crew member must open the door and that there isn't enough crew members around to open every door.
 
Speaking as an english major, this particular phrase has vexed me to no end for as long as I can remember. I've always tended to refrain from saying something, and I inevitably regret it after alighting. Now that someone else has called it out, though, I think that I may speak up next time. ;)

Rafi
 
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I think this is something that you learn in the North East Conductor Academy, AKA area 52-90210. :)

Seriously though, whenever I travel on any train in the NE Corridor area I usually hear this, including NJ Transit, even the MTA for certain subway stops.
 
Speaking as an english major, this particular phrase has vexed me to no end for as long as I can remember. I've always tended to refrain from saying something, and I inevitably regret it after alighting. Now that someone else has called it out, though, I think that I may speak up next time. ;)

Rafi
The funny thing is, that that the MARC conductors seem to get it right more often than not.
 
<br />
<br />The funny thing is, that that the MARC conductors seem to get it right more often than not.<br />
<br />Yes, but are they still announcing "Odington" or "Oh-denton" and "Bow-ee"? I always enjoyed those mispronunciations when I rode MARC in the '70s.<br />
<br /><br /><br />
Bowie is named after Oden Bowie. Mr. Bowie, who was president of the Baltimore & Potomac RR and a governor of Maryland, pronounced his name like those floating things along navigation channels: buoy. So, if the conductors are announcing "Buoy State", they're saying it right.

Odenton, which also gets its name from Mr. Bowie, is typically pronounced with what I call the Maryland "O". It's just a unique way that Marylanders treat the 15th letter.
 
Having grown up in Bowie and currently living in Odenton, Mr. Bowie is a minor hero of mine. There is one exit sign when you're headed south on I-97 for 32/3 that lists the two destinations as "Odenton / Bowie". How awesome is that?

I enjoy the long drawn out OOOOOO-DING-TON from a few of the conductors - mostly because when I'm 95% asleep on the train, it's distinctive enough to rouse me and make sure that I don't wake up in Perryville. I can't say that I've ever heard Buoy State mispronounced. :D

Edit: That reminds me that it's time to rotate my avatar.
 
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Bowie is named after Oden Bowie. Mr. Bowie, who was president of the Baltimore & Potomac RR and a governor of Maryland, pronounced his name like those floating things along navigation channels: buoy. So, if the conductors are announcing "Buoy State", they're saying it right.
Except that there are two pronunciations of "buoy." I have always pronounced it like "boy" (though I admit I grew up near the geographic center of North America).
 
Speaking as an english major, this particular phrase has vexed me to no end for as long as I can remember. I've always tended to refrain from saying something, and I inevitably regret it after alighting. Now that someone else has called it out, though, I think that I may speak up next time. ;)

Rafi

Rafi,

Glad to hear you were an english major, the only thing I made was an American PFC!!!

:help: :blush: :help:
 
Speaking as an english major, this particular phrase has vexed me to no end for as long as I can remember. I've always tended to refrain from saying something, and I inevitably regret it after alighting. Now that someone else has called it out, though, I think that I may speak up next time. ;)

Rafi

Rafi,

Glad to hear you were an english major, the only thing I made was an American PFC!!!

:help: :blush: :help:
That's hardly an "only!" That's a cut above. :)
 
I've taken Amtrak quite a bit this year, and one phrase I've heard a lot is quite irritating. Conductors often say, "At the next stop, all doors will not open. Exit where you see a uniformed member of the crew."

...

But what the conductor is actually saying is "At the next station, NONE of the doors will open."
While I agree that is clumsy phrasing, I have to disagree that the opposite of "all" is "none". The opposite of "all" is "not all" which can be "some" or even "most".

Kind of like the way that "not guilty" does not mean "innocent"
 
On the Texas Eagle the OBC uses that excuse to insist that people sit in a certain car, i.e., certain doors open only at certain stops. This is not always true. Just yesterday I heard an attendant say that to a person bound for Fort Worth where the entire train pulls into the station and dwells at the platform for half an hour. Why don't they tell us the truth? I'm sure there is a reason but that is not it.
 
I've taken Amtrak quite a bit this year, and one phrase I've heard a lot is quite irritating. Conductors often say, "At the next stop, all doors will not open. Exit where you see a uniformed member of the crew."

What the conductor means is that the platform at the next station is not long enough to accommodate the entire train, and therefore, only some cars will have doors opening. If you don't see a crewmember, you should move to a different car to exit. Since I hear this exact phrase frequently, I think Amtrak must train conductors to say it this way.

But what the conductor is actually saying is "At the next station, NONE of the doors will open."

The correct phrasing would be "Not all doors will open."

I've always found this frustrating. I wonder how this phrase got started, and why it persists.
I have never heard that phrase used without the conductor telling us which doors will open, so it has not been confusing in the least.
 
I've taken Amtrak quite a bit this year, and one phrase I've heard a lot is quite irritating. Conductors often say, "At the next stop, all doors will not open. Exit where you see a uniformed member of the crew."

...

But what the conductor is actually saying is "At the next station, NONE of the doors will open."
While I agree that is clumsy phrasing, I have to disagree that the opposite of "all" is "none". The opposite of "all" is "not all" which can be "some" or even "most".

Kind of like the way that "not guilty" does not mean "innocent"
Sorry, but you're wrong. The subject of the sentence is "all doors", so the statement applies to "all doors". If I were to state that "All windows are closed", that means that there are no windows open.
 
On the Texas Eagle the OBC uses that excuse to insist that people sit in a certain car, i.e., certain doors open only at certain stops. This is not always true. Just yesterday I heard an attendant say that to a person bound for Fort Worth where the entire train pulls into the station and dwells at the platform for half an hour. Why don't they tell us the truth? I'm sure there is a reason but that is not it.
In the case you cited, it may be more to do with arranging seating for the convenience of the crews. Grouping long, medium, or short haul passengers in specific cars may make loading/unloading easier at downline stations. And perhaps to insure that there is a train attendant on duty (not on rest break), to detrain passengers at stops during late night hours, etc.
 
As a regular rider of the Texas Eagles over the years I've noticed that at most stops you pretty much are on your own as to which doors will open at stops, especially out in the boonies @ places like Taylor, McGregor, Mineola etc.(most times there seems to be one Attendant covering 2-3 coaches, sometimes the AC will help out??) The Train is spotted twice in Marshall and Taylor(if there are sleeper pax boarding/deboarding), but other than that Ive found it best to ask the Conductor or Coach Attendant which door will open at stops, several times Ive seen people left on the Train when no-one showed up to let them off at their stop which is poor management by the Attendant/Conductors but its better to ask IMO!

At long stops like @ FTW, not all doors open, but you have enough time to walk to where there is an open door if they dont make an announcement or the Attendant doesnt show up to open the door on your car! Whatever you do Don't open the door yourself, next Train is tomorrow!! :lol:
 
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As a regular rider of the Texas Eagles over the years I've noticed that at most stops you pretty much are on your own as to which doors will open at stops, especially out in the boonies @ places like Taylor, McGregor, Mineola etc.(most times there seems to be one Attendant covering 2-3 coaches, sometimes the AC will help out??) The Train is spotted twice in Marshall, but other than that Ive found it best to ask the Conductor or Coach Attendant which door will open at stops, several times Ive seen people left on the Train when no-one showed up to let them off at their stop which is poor management by the Attendant/Conductors but its better to ask IMO!

At long stops like @ FTW, not all doors open, but you have enough time to walk to where there is an open door if they dont make an announcement or the Attendant doesnt show up to open the door on your car! Whatever you do Don't open the door yourself, next Train is tomorrow!! :lol:
If I were in a car where there was no to open the door, I would certinaly open the door myself. What are they going to do, kick me off?
 
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