A couple of weeks ago I flew on this Pacific Coastal Beech 1900:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/geoff_a...ia/3367333856/

Definitely smaller than an RJ of course.

I sat in the last row of the aircraft, which was in effect a three-across bench seat. Behind me was a thin flimsy bulkhead, held on with a few brackets. I could plainly hear the luggage being taken in and out of the plane at our stops along the way to my destination - So while there was no access to the luggage from the cabin (without some tools) it was plainly obvious where it was.

...and I must admit I didn't get the sense there was any complex luggage balancing going on, unless 'huck the bags into the hold' is some new complex system I'm not otherwise aware of :)

On the Dash-8-200 there is apparently a small door from the cabin to the "pit" that the FA can use to take a look if the fire alarm has gone off and put out the fire if there is one. It has been a while since I worked the -200 so I don't remember if it is actually there. I don't know about the -300, but the Q400 definitely does not have one (atleast not the QX Q400s).

When there are only a few bags, there is no point in stacking carefully (unless W&B is a significant factor). When there are a lot of bags, that is when we pay close attention to where the bags are going (ie, not soft bags on the bottom).