Railcar safety appliances

A ladder and handrail system comprising:

• a ladder comprising a plurality of steps wherein the plurality of steps are staggered such that when the ladder is coupled to a generally vertical surface at least one step proximate a bottom of the ladder is offset from a vertical plane corresponding to the generally vertical surface by a greater distance than at least one step proximate a top of the ladder;
• and
• a handrail, wherein a bottom portion of the handrail is offset from the vertical plane corresponding to the generally vertical surface by a greater distance than a top portion of the handrail when the handrail is coupled to the generally vertical surface.

A handhold comprising:

• a handrail oriented in a generally vertical direction, wherein the handrail is offset from vertical when coupled to a generally vertical surface such that a bottom portion of the handrail is offset from a vertical plane corresponding to the generally vertical surface by a greater distance than a top portion of the handrail;
• and
• a slope of the handrail generally corresponds to a slope of a staggered ladder when the handrail is coupled to the vertical surface proximate the staggered ladder, wherein the staggered ladder comprises a plurality of steps that are staggered such that when the ladder is coupled to the generally vertical surface at least one step proximate a bottom of the ladder is offset from the vertical plane corresponding to the generally vertical surface by a greater distance than at least one step proximate a top of the ladder.