Observation car
Encyclopedia
Configuration
The main spotting feature was at the tail end of the car: the walls of the car usually were curved together to form a large U shape, and larger windows were installed all around the end of the car. On older cars, the rear end of the car consisted of a large, canopied porch-like area. At this end of the car, there was almost always a lounge where passengers could enjoy the view as they watched the track recede into the distance, and usually (but not always) a bar or buffet where drinks and snacks could be purchased. The tail end of the car was invariably adorned with a lighted drumheadDrumhead (sign)
The term drumhead refers to a type of removable sign that was prevalent on North American railroads of the first half of the 20th century. The sign was mounted at the rear of passenger trains, and consisted of a box with internal illumination that shone through a tinted panel bearing the logo of...
(except on the Milwaukee Road, see below), usually indicating the name of the train, or else just the name or logo of the railroad.
Among North American railroads, their observation cars often contained revenue seating or rooms in the forward section, in the form of coach seats, parlor car seats, or bedrooms
Sleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...
, such configurations varying greatly between railroads.
History
When passenger trains were still the preferred mode of intercity transportation in America, observations often were used by those campaigning for public office, especially for the Presidency of the United States. The candidate’s train would pull into town and stop with the observation end at the station, then the candidate would appear on the observation platform to deliver his “stump speech”. The observation platform made a perfect temporary stage for just such an event. Like political candidates, famous personalities such as members of a royal family or filmFilm
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
stars would use the open observation car end as a stage from which they would greet well-wishers and fans during public tours.
In more recent years, presidents Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
have used a heavyweight observation car built by the Pullman Standard Company
Pullman Company
The Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s...
in 1930.
Industrial design
Pullman Company
The Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s...
conformed to somewhat standard design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
s, some railroads created their own distinctive designs for observation ends. For example, the Milwaukee Road’s passenger trains were often rounded out with either a “Skytop Lounge” or a finned “Beavertail observation” the latter due to noted industrial designer Otto Kuhler
Otto Kuhler
Otto Kuhler was an American designer, one of the best known industrial designers of the American railroads. According to Trains magazine he streamstyled more locomotives and railroad cars than Cret, Dreyfuss and Loewy combined...
. The Milwaukee's observations were easily recognizable as the observation end of the cars were not only rounded, but also slanted toward the front of the car, often with windows extending up from the normal window height to the roofline. The Milwaukee's observations, including the Skytops, lacked a drumhead, whose place was taken by a large oscillating rear light; instead, each tapered side carried the generic Milwaukee script name "Hiawatha" embossed on stainless steel trim flanking this light.
Six railroads bought dome
Dome car
A dome car is a type of railway passenger car that has a glass dome on the top of the car where passengers can ride and see in all directions around the train. It also can include features of a coach, lounge car, dining car or observation...
-observation cars from Budd
Budd Company
The Budd Company is a metal fabricator and major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and was formerly a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars during the 20th century....
— the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
, and the Western Pacific Railroad
Western Pacific Railroad
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California...
for use on their joint California Zephyr
California Zephyr
The California Zephyr is a long passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the midwestern and western United States.It runs from Chicago, Illinois, in the east to Emeryville, California, in the west, passing through the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California...
, and the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
for The Canadian
The Canadian
The Canadian is a Canadian transcontinental passenger train originally operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1955 and 1978. It is currently operated as an Inter-city rail service by Via Rail Canada with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario and Pacific Central Station in...
and The Dominion. The WP touted this combination car type as “the best of both worlds” in passenger amenities. The Wabash used the cars on their "Bluebird", Chicago to St. Louis, and the Chesapeake and Ohio for the "Chessie" which never went into service. The C&O cars were sold to the Denver & Rio Grande and ran on the "Royal Gorge".
Modern use
As described above, the observation car on scheduled passenger trains has largely fallen victim to increased operational costs. An outstanding exception is Via Rail Canada's Canadian, which still operates on every triweekly trip between TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Vancouver with the same dome observation-lounge cars in use on the train since 1955.
See also
- Starlight ExpressStarlight ExpressStarlight Express is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber , Richard Stilgoe and Arlene Phillips , with later revisions by Don Black and David Yazbek . The story follows a child's dream in which his toy train set comes to life; famously the actors perform wearing roller skates...
, a musical about railway locomotives and carriages where Pearl the Observation CarPearl the Observation CarPearl is the "new girl" character and female lead in the West End musical Starlight Express. She is a railway observation carriage, although in Germany she is referred to as the "first class car"...
is a character. Her costume is made to resemble that of a PullmanPullman (car or coach)In the United States, Pullman was used to refer to railroad sleeping cars which were built and operated on most U.S. railroads by the Pullman Company from 1867 to December 31, 1968....
Observation coach.