Open coach

The prototype for their design were the passenger cabins in the river steamers which were then widespread in America.

As a result of their origin they were originally known in Europe as American system passenger coaches or American coaches (Personenwagen amerikanischen Systems or Amerikanerwagen) and the idea soon caught on in European railway companies.

From the beginning of the 20th century open coaches became commonly used in local trains and began to spread to long-distance services too.

On tramways, an open coach is a six- or eight-wheeled driving car or trailer, which has an especially high volumetric capacity.

Whilst in West Germany, Austria and Switzerland this type of vehicle was rapidly replaced by articulated trams, in East Germany, the Tatra trams were the norm during the 1960s in many cities.