I grew up riding both the L and the Chicago & Northwestern and the gallery cars smelled so much worse than the CTA, even the non-smoking car smelled like stage III cancer.
I loved them more than I can ever possibly describe.
Whenever I get the train I always think that the one thing missing from the experience is being squashed in like sardines just like when flying economy class.
I honestly don't understand why there is so much hate for them. Granted, I grew up with them, but they make sense for what they were designed to do. Seriously, what's the problem with them?
For me they were the first diesel American commuter railcar I had to use, and American loco-hauled diesels are s l o w. They're high level so there's an awkward number of steps. They feel like a terrible waste of space. The suspension (on Caltrain at least) is legendarily bad.
Visiting family in places that had electric commuter rail (NYC, Geneva) and then riding Caltrain was a disappointment, and at least the bilevels were slightly comfortable.
Comments
british loading gauge gallery car
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhL4sz471wI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNAbIXpZ_cw
I loved them more than I can ever possibly describe.
https://youtu.be/xna1D2Pre7A?feature=shared
Or a MILW one too I'll take that as long as it's stainless steel.