Gangway connection

A gangway connection or corridor connection is a flexible connector fitted to the end of a railway coach, enabling passengers to move between coaches without danger of falling from the train.

Origins: Coaches in British and American railways

The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) was the first British railway to provide passengers with the means to move from one coach to another while the train was in motion. In 1869 the LNWR built a pair of saloons for the use of Queen Victoria; these had six-wheel underframes (the bogie coach did not appear in Britain until 1872), and the gangway was fitted to only one end of each coach. The Queen preferred to wait until the train had stopped before using the gangway.

In 1887, George M. Pullman introduced his patented vestibule cars. Older railroad cars had open platforms at their ends, which were used both for joining and leaving the train, but could also be used to step from one car to the next. This practice was dangerous, and so Pullman decided to enclose the platform to produce the vestibule. For passing between cars, there was a passageway in the form of a steel-framed rectangular diaphragm mounted on a buffing plate above the centre coupler. The vestibule prevented passengers from falling out, and protected passengers from the weather when passing between cars. In the event of an accident, the design also helped prevent cars from overriding each other, reducing the risk of telescoping.