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((Short description|Train car with large windows for rear viewing))
((multiple issues|
((globalize|date=September 2013))
((more citations needed|date=September 2013))
))
[[Image:Heavyweight observation.jpg|thumb|300px|A [[Passenger car (rail)#Heavyweight vs. lightweight|heavyweight]] observation on display at the [[Illinois Railway Museum]].]]
[[File:London and North Western Railway observation car No 1503 at Kingscote.jpg|thumb|[[London and North Western Railway|LNWR]] observation car No 1503 at Kingscote, [[Bluebell Railway]]]]
An '''observation car/carriage/coach''' (in US English, often abbreviated to simply '''observation''' or '''obs''') is a type of [[railroad]] [[Passenger car (rail)|passenger car]], generally operated in a passenger train as the rearmost carriage, with windows or a platform on the rear of the car for passengers' viewing pleasure. The cars were nearly universally removed from service on American railroads beginning in the 1950s as a cost-cutting measure in order to eliminate the need to "turn" the trains when operating out of stub-end terminals.

The [[Push-pull train|push-pull]] mode of operation removes this limitation.  In Europe, various trains are now fitted with observation cars at either or both ends.
((Clear))
==Configuration==
The main spotting feature of observation cars is at the "B" end (tail) of the car; the walls of lightweight and streamlined cars usually round together to form a tapered U shape, smoothly or with a door, and larger panoramic windows were installed all around the end of the car. On older heavyweight cars, the rear end of the car consisted of an enlarged, canopied porch-like open vestibule platform area, with the door and enlarged windows set back into the car, giving wind-wing shelter from the draft. Whether old or new there was frequently a large open lounge in the B end where passengers could enjoy the view as they watched the track recede into the distance, and usually (but not always) equipped as a club car with a bar or buffet where soft drinks, cocktails and snacks could be purchased.
[[File:Royal Gorge Denver and Rio Grande tourist passenger car 1918.JPG|thumb|Open observation car at the Hanging Bridge of the [[Royal Gorge]] on the [[Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad]] in 1918. The enclosed observation car is directly in front of it.]]
[[Image:Coches del Decauville de Ostende en Estación Tokio rumbo a Ostende.jpg|thumb|Tokio station, where passengers boarded the train to [[Ostende, Buenos Aires|Ostende]], Argentina (1913) '''Observation car''' ([[Decauville wagon]])]]
This differs from non-revenue business cars or private varnish, which may have featured (starting with the A end;) the normally locked center communicating door to a corridor along one side, leading to the salon with doors to a [[pantry]] and small [[Galley (kitchen)|galley]] which was often convertible to a dormitory for the chef and porter/steward at night with cutting board covering a sink, a combination oven/stove/hot-water-tank/steam-heating-boiler and diminished side door for loading supplies, then a private restroom/bathing-room, one or two deluxe private rooms for a personal secretary perhaps and the line's vice president, a locked china/silver/liquor cabinet along the final dividing wall facing a large open multipurpose salon. The salon was often fitted with fold down overhead bunks above a retractable dining/conference table over sub-deck storage, a conductor's desk with secured storage for train log, wine log, and merchant's account books along with relevant gauges such as air pressure and speedometer at the track inspection viewing window recessed behind the expanded observation platform, which was fenced with opulent railing supporting an (optional) illuminated [[drumhead (sign)|drumhead]] at the B end.((cn|date=December 2021)) Fresh drinking water, [[greywater|grey water]], kerosene/fuel and other tanks crowded beneath the floor sill competed for space with heating/cooling, axle powered mechanical equipment, shore-power batteries and equipment/tool storage bins to support a self-sustaining/self-reliant car whether on the road or on a siding while making track orders. This variety of features is easy to spot with a variety of window placement and sizes, while observation car windows tend to be more uniform in size and placement.

Among North American railroads, their observation cars often featured any of a variety of upcharge revenue seating, reserved sitting/drawing rooms or sleeper roomettes in the forward section, in the form of reclining coach seats, plush [[parlor car]] chairs near side tables or [[Sleeping car|bedrooms]] and the occasional crew dormitory, such configurations varying greatly between railroads. A lighted [[drumhead (sign)|drumhead]] adornment, usually indicating the name of the train or the name/logo of the railroad would invariably (except on the [[Milwaukee Road]], see below) be hung from the tail end of the observation car. Some early trains offered two observation cars: a traditional enclosed type for its compartment or "first class" passengers and an open type resembling a flat car for its tourist class riders.<ref>((cite web|url=http://www.gnflyer.com/GlacierP.html|title=Glacier Park-Postcard photo of the open car on ''The Oregonian-''-Great Northern Railway|year=1913|publisher=Ted's Great Northern Homepage|access-date=5 March 2012))</ref><ref>((cite web|url=http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oriental_limited_1924.jpg|title=New trainset of the ''Oriental Limited''-photo of open observation car|year=1924|publisher=Great Northern Railway|access-date=5 March 2012))</ref>
((clear))

==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 [[POTUS|Presidency of the United States]] such as [[Ferdinand Magellan Railcar#Presidential use|United States Railcar No. 1, the ''Ferdinand Magellan'']]. On a [[whistle stop train tour]] 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 (politics)|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 [[film]] 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]], [[George H. W. Bush]], [[Bill Clinton]], and [[Barack Obama]] have used a heavyweight observation car built by the [[Pullman Company|Pullman Standard Company]] in 1930.<ref>((Cite news | title = Train car Obama said to be using has long presidential pedigree | url = http://www.baltimoresun.com/topic/politics/government/presidents-of-the-united-states/jimmy-carter-PEHST000385.topic | date = January 16, 2009 |first= Frederick N. |last=Rasmussen | newspaper = Baltimore Sun ))</ref> This car is the [[Georgia 300]].

==Industrial design==
[[File:Skytop Lounge rear.jpg|thumb|right|One of the Milwaukee Road's [[Skytop Lounge]] cars brings up the rear of a steam excursion behind [[Milwaukee Road 261]].]]
While the cars manufactured by companies such as [[Pullman Company|Pullman-Standard]] conformed to somewhat standard [[design]]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]].  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. The Milwaukee's Skytops—four parlor cars built in the railroad's own shops and six sleepers built by Pullman-Standard—were designed by noted industrial designer [[Brooks Stevens]].
Six railroads bought [[Dome car|dome]]-observation cars from [[Budd Company|Budd]] — the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]], the [[Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad]], and the [[Western Pacific Railroad]] for use on their joint ''[[California Zephyr]]'', and the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] for ''[[The Canadian]]'' and ''[[The Dominion (passenger train)|The Dominion]]''. The WP touted this combination car type as "the best of both worlds" in passenger amenities.  Budd also built observation cars for the [[Wabash Railroad]] for their ''[[Blue Bird (train)|Blue Bird]]'' trains between Chicago and St. Louis, and for the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]] for the ''[[Chessie (train)|Chessie]]'' which never went into service.  The C&O cars were sold to the Denver & Rio Grande and ran on the ''Royal Gorge''.<ref>((cite book| title=An Illustrated Treasury of Budd railway passenger cars, 1931 to 1981| first=James W.| last=Kerr| publisher=Delta Publications| year=1981| pages=88–90; 162–165))</ref>

==Modern use==
[[File:Perurail Vistadome car in Aguascalientes, Perú.jpg|thumb|right|[[PeruRail#Cusco - Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu)|PeruRail]] observation railcar]]
As described above, the observation car on scheduled passenger trains has largely fallen victim to increased operational costs. An outstanding exception is [[Via Rail]]'s ''[[Canadian (train)|Canadian]]'', which still operates on every triweekly trip between [[Toronto]] and [[Vancouver, British Columbia|Vancouver]] with the same dome observation-lounge cars in use on the train since 1955.

On several long distance [[Amtrak]] routes outside the [[Northeast Corridor]] where most trains are equipped with [[Superliner (railcar)|Superliner]] cars, there are Sightseer Lounge cars. These combine extra window exposure on an upper observation level with a lounge area and dormitory facilities on lower levels of the trains, though are generally placed mid-way through the train's consist.

Some modern European trains, typically operating in the [[Push-pull train|push-pull]] mode, are fitted with observation cars on one or both ends.  The driver is located in a cabin on the side of the passengers, or above them like in the Swiss [[GoldenPass Line|GoldenPass]].  The German [[Intercity-Express|ICE]] [[control car]]s feature a see-through driver cabin, with passenger seats behind the driver. In Italy the [[Settebello (train)|Settebello]], in service between 1952 and 1992, and the [[FS Class ETR 300#Arlecchino (ETR 250)|Arlecchino]] also had the operator's cabs located above the lounge compartments at both ends of the train.<ref name="newyorker">((cite magazine|last=Bainbridge|first=John|title=Our Man on the Settebello|date=April 18, 1964|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|publisher=[[Condé Nast]]|page=41|url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1964/04/18/1964_04_18_041_TNY_CARDS_000279489 |accessdate=February 25, 2013))</ref>

==See also==
((div col|colwidth=30em))
* [[Dome car]]
* [[Panorama Car]]
* [[Private railroad car]]
* [[Skytop Lounge]]
* [[Starlight Express]], a musical about railway locomotives and carriages where [[Pearl the Observation Car]] is a character. Her costume is made to resemble that of a [[Pullman (car or coach)|Pullman]] Observation coach.
((div col end))

==References==
((reflist))
* ((White-Passenger-1985))

==External links==
((commons category-inline|Observation cars))
* [http://calzephyr.railfan.net/cars/domeobs2.html Dome Observation history]
* [http://www.trainweb.org/hiawatha/coffeecreek.html Skytop Lounge ''Coffee Creek'' restoration]
* [http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/pics/1503.html London and North Western Railway observation car No. 1503]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716085400/http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/news322.htm Swanage Railway’s Pullman Observation Car No. 14]

((Passenger cars))

[[Category:Observation]]
[[Category:Passenger railroad cars]]

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