This caught my attention when walking to my airport express train at Oslo Central Station: a buffer stop manufactured in West Germany.
West Germany ceased to exist upon German reunification in 1990, so this safety device is minimally thirty-five years old, likely older, which implies no recent accidents on Platform 14-15 since installation: perhaps a reasonable safety record, though I haven’t done any research. The more press question is about life expectancy, are regular checks done to ensure its continued viability or is there a life expectancy after which it must be replace?
Reddit had a tread about a 137 year-old buffer stop successfully tested beyond its defined limits, so, unlike so many consumer goods today, these devices were made to last (though today’s versions may not be).
