Passenger railroad car

It featured a roof and small holes in the floor for drainage when it rained, and had separate compartments for different classes of travel.

Britain's Royal Mail commissioned and built the first travelling post office cars in the late 1840s as well.

Passenger cars, particularly in America, grew along with them, first getting longer with the addition of a second truck (one at each end), and wider as their suspensions improved.

[citation needed] In the United States, the so-called "chair car" with individual seating became commonplace on long-distance routes.

The roomette featured a large picture window, a privacy door, a single fold-away bed, a sink and a small toilet.

These cars started to become common in the United States in the 1960s, and were adopted by Amtrak for the Superliner design as well as by many other railroads and manufacturers.

While intercity passenger rail travel declined in America, ridership continued to increase in other parts of the world.

The steering axles evolved into mechanisms that would also tilt the passenger car as it entered a curve to counter the centrifugal force experienced by the train, further increasing speeds on existing track.

[5] Today, Talgo trains are used in many places in Europe and they have also found a home in North America on some short and medium distance routes such as Eugene, Oregon, to Vancouver, British Columbia.

These trains, built by Fiat Ferroviaria (now owned by Alstom), are in regular service in Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.

By 2000, Western Europe's major cities (London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Geneva, Berlin, Rome, etc.)

This gives modern trains a smooth, coherent appearance because all the cars and often the engines share a similar design and paint scheme.

The seating arrangements and density, as well as the absence or presence of other facilities depends on the intended use – from mass transit systems to long distance luxury trains.

The opening into the cars is usually located at both ends of the carriage, often into a small hallway – which in railway parlance is termed a vestibule.

In India, normal carriages often have double height seating, with benches (berths), so that people can sit above one another (not unlike a bunk bed).

The conductor would simply walk down the aisle in the car, reversing the seat backs to prepare for the return trip.

The remainder of the interior is laid out with tables and chairs to look like a long, narrow restaurant dining room.

At this end of the car, there was almost always a lounge where passengers could enjoy the view as they watched the track rapidly recede into the distance.

Early models were divided into sections, where coach seating converted at night into semi-private berths.

They offered simple sleeping berths and a cooking area for immigrants who were expected to bring their own food and bedding.

This can be important for serving small towns without extensive switching facilities, end train stations, dead-end lines, and having a fast turnaround when changing directions in commuter service.

Passengers in the upper portion of the dome were able to see in all directions from a vantage point above the train's roof line.

In the United States, the Union Pacific railroad was the primary user of dome dining cars in the pre-Amtrak era.

Double decker coaches were tried in the UK (SR Class 4DD) but the experiment was unsuccessful because the restricted British loading gauge resulted in cramped conditions.

This method allowed part of the trip to be made overnight, reducing the amount of transit time required and increasing travel efficiency.

In later years a number of changes to this basic form were introduced to allow for improvements in speed, comfort, and expense.

Finally, it is possible to implement tilting schemes such as the Talgo design which allow the train to lean into curves.

The low floor enables easy access for bicycles, strollers, suitcases, wheelchairs and those with disabilities, which is otherwise not always convenient or even possible with the traditional passenger car design.

Trams, light rail vehicles and subways have been widely constructed in urban areas throughout the world since the late 19th century.

In Germany, the new Talent design shows that the diesel-powered passenger car is still a viable part of rail service.