Combine car

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A combine car, most often referred to simply as a combine, is a type of railroad car which combines sections for both passengers and freight.

Most often, it was used on a short line to carry passengers and their luggage, as a full car would not have been cost effective. One half (or less) of the car is built like a baggage car while the other half of the car is a regular passenger car. This type of combine is referred to as a coach-baggage.

Another common type of combine in railroad use was the coach-RPO. A portion of this type of car was configured as a railway post office while the rest of the car was configured as a coach.

Although Amtrak operates many cars in its Superliner fleet that are labeled as coach-baggage, they are not often referred to as combines. Via Rail Canada still operates a few combines in the traditional sense, which carry passengers, baggage and supplies for villages en route. They are towed by freight trains in far northern Manitoba.

[edit] External links

• Virginia & Truckee Railroad Combination Car No. 16 — photographs and short history of a Combination Car built in 1874.

[edit] References

• The American Railroad Passenger Car by John H. White, Jr. Two Volumes (1978) by Johns Hopkins University Press.
• ISBN 0-8018-2743-4 (pbk.: set: alk. paper)
• ISBN 0-8018-2722-1 (pbk.: v.1: alk. paper)
• ISBN 0-8018-2747-7 (pbk.: v.2: alk. paper)

Rail transport passenger equipment
Head-end equipment	Baggage · Express reefer · Horse car · RPO · TPO
Passenger-carrying equipment	Coach · Couchette · Diner · Dome · Lounge · Observation · Sleeper / Pullman
Miscellaneous equipment	Combine · Troop kitchen / Troop sleeper