Mark, I've read the post you referred to above and I am highly skeptical.

"…waste matter was sucked out of the toilet and straight back through vacuum tubes along the sides to be sprayed in a fine mist from the rear of the train."

I've never heard of this technology. I've always assumed that the modern technique was to store the waste matter in a holding tank that is periodically pumped out, like those on airplanes, RV's, and portable toilets. It seems to me, if you're going to install a high-tech system like the one described, you'd also have the sense to add a switch to deactivate it when the train is stopped.

Now, maybe Steve Goodman did tell the story this way, but I think he stretched the truth a little.