Maybe Minnesotans are more paranoid than New Yorkers, but come October we start storing blankets and winter-weight outerwear in our vehicles...even after moving to Texas.

I wonder if years of hearing about global warming have made people think winter no longer exists? Did Al Gore used to say how snow was a thing of the past?

As for the heated bathroom, It was a small john just for use by the subway workers. There's no way you could stuff 400 people in it.

-Blast

Rather than inside the subway cars I'm thinking maybe in trashcans or something like that outside the cars. I suspect after a while people would find stuff to burn like magazines or books they had been reading. Hmmm, though a better use for those items would be to crumple up and "insulate" your clothing with them.

-Blast

This is an interesting and worthwhile question I think, better than the usual MacGuyver scenario anyway. Let's start with handwarmers, those 99 cent doohickeys you might keep in your pocket for a cold day - a definite comfort for 24 hours on a stalled train, and it would make you look like Prince Valiant to hand them out to your neighbors. A couple hand warmers kept near your core can keep you comfortable for a considerable period of time - which is good for you, but a godsend to the mother of three who otherwise is stressed and worried about her cold, shivering kids. Then consider something that alot of us keep in our BOBs - heat cells (www.heatcell.com) are inexpensive and an easy way to generate a lot of heat, particularly in an enclosed place such as a stalled car, or here maybe in a stalled train. Now if I was travelling anywhere except to/from the airport, I might have one of these in my daypack, and a lighter to ignite it, for hours of safe and relative comfort. But given that I'm coming from a TSA zone aka airport, I lack matches or a lighter, and most likely the heat cell too - although if I was shunted onto the train from my car, I take my BOB from the trunk while I make my way home, and I have a heat cell with me then. I'm convinced a functioning heat cell would make yours the most popular circle on any train. Those will burn for about 12 hours.

With or without sources of warmth, this scenario is a good one to work on your social networking skills, talking to and taking care of people around you - you never know when a bit of social cohesion might be required should the situation become more dire. And alot of folks can be away from their meds (diabetes, anti-psychotic etc) - rally help for them. You want people around you talking and listening and contributing to solving problems like food to eat, warmth, and a bit of safety to get a few winks sleep etc.

Common lighters and matches are legal in a TSA zone in CARRY-ON luggage.

Don't take my word for it though...
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_multi_image_with_table_0099.shtm

Unfortunately that official information is only correct in theory. Lighters and matches are only allowed (legal or not) if the TSA agents on duty when you pass through say they are. I have lost several allowed lighters and finger nail clippers in airports despite the published policies.

As for those stranded on the train - life is pretty much a come as you are event. I would probably go with life boat rules and try to help kids and women first. Given the very limited amount of stuff I have on me for my commute that wouldn't go very far but I'd feel better about helping out some kids even while I sat around shivering.

Even if I had the tools, I don't think I would consider a fire unless someone was seriously distressed (not just uncomfortable). Fire is a great tool but around the unwary it can help things go from bad to worse very quickly.

- Eric

Agreed on that, good observations - you're not in charge in this scenario either, its not your environment to burn, so if the conductor says put it out, it goes out. Its their job if your small fire sets a bigger one. A good approach might be to show the heat cell to the guy in charge, describe how it works, where you'll set it, and that you'll supervise it while the kids huddle around to get warm. These days they'll probably call up to a supervisor, and they'll say no - but it doesn't hurt to tell the higher ups that the folks are cold enough to try marginally unsafe things. FWIW though heat cells are designed to work on the dashboard of your car, they are pretty darn safe, and they are designed not to spread flames if tipped over etc.

You'd have to stretch reality quite a bit to put me on any elevated train in snow conditions, in Queens, with or without a lighter, much less a heat cell. Closer to home I travel far differently, and the ambient conditions are a good bit more pleasant than a NYC snowstorm.

Most won't, no matter how many stories they hear. Giving away our personal responsibility has been become a way of life in our society. I used to be Fire Warden in a large office tower and it constantly amazed me when people would head downstairs for a smoke break or fire alarm, wearing only the light, inside clothes on their backs. The jackets, no keys or purses, just an attitude of "They need to hurry the *&#$ up so I can get back in where it's warm and dry." It was like a game. I can only imagine how these same people pack for a longer journey.

My FIL summed it up best over the holidays. Taking about the people stranded in Southern Ontario a couple of weeks ago (a mere hop, skip and a jump from our neck of the woods) he claimed it was "just a freak thing and the authorities should have been better prepared." "They never should have left those people out there that long!" is his battle cry. It hurts my head!

That's the case for anything you're carrying. The important point is that common lighters and matches are legal in carry-on luggage. I can't worry about every little whim of every TSA security personnel. The best I can sanely do is know the law and proceed accordingly. I'll take my chances that I may lose about a dollar's worth of gear. A mini Bic is about a dollar, and matches are even less than that.

Your experience is different than mine. I just got back from an international trip where TSA security was a notch higher, including more check points. I had in my carry-on a lighter and other legal items. I'm a big guy who was wearing cargo pants and a military-style sun hat. I was not stopped once. I have also carried a lighter on national flights without being stopped. It's funny to note that TSA confiscated a sea shell that my fiance (right in front of me) had in her carry-on.

What works for me is ignoring rumors, directly reading the TSA prohibited list for myself, and knowing what's on me. I also make sure not to set off the body scanner. If a person gets pulled aside for a body search, it's likely that some legal items will be confiscated from the person's carry-on bags. That has happened to my dad on more than one occasion.

That's why I tend to purchase a lighter *after* I get through security. Won't work for some small airports that don't have concessions inside security, but most larger ones do.

-john

I will continue to carry my lighters, which I have been carrying legally for awhile without confiscation. If TSA decides to confiscate my lighter, then I'll lose a mini Bic that's costs about a dollar.