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A combine car in North American parlance, most often referred to simply as a combine, is a type of
railroad car A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a ...
which combines sections for both
passenger A passenger (also abbreviated as pax) is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. Th ...
s and
freight Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including tran ...
. Most often, it was used on short lines to carry passengers and their luggage, as a full car would not have been
cost effective Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is a form of economic analysis that compares the relative costs and outcomes (effects) of different courses of action. Cost-effectiveness analysis is distinct from cost–benefit analysis, which assigns a moneta ...
. One half (or less) of the car is built like a
baggage car A passenger railroad car or passenger car (United States), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (United Kingdom and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (India) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passeng ...
while the other half of the car is a regular
passenger car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
. 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 In Canada and the United States, a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly tr ...
while the rest of the car was configured as a
coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...
. The New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad operated a combine separated into an RPO and a smoking section. In 1893, Pullman produced a combine with a baggage area, buffet, barber shop, bathroom with tub and a smoking section featuring a fireplace. When
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
took over in 1971, lightweight combines were used on most routes, particularly on trains that had used combines before Amtrak took over. As Amtrak started rehabbing their older cars to Heritage Fleet standards, the only combines which survived were the Baggage-Dorm cars. As Amtrak received the Superliner cars in all forms, including dorm cars, the only routes which required rehabbed single-level dorm cars were the East Coast routes (''
Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...
'', '' Lake Shore Limited'', ''
Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...
'', etc.) due to low tunnel clearance. Because Amtrak had a surplus of single-level coaches due to the recent delivery of Amfleet coaches, baggage-coaches were unnecessary. Thus, baggage-dorm cars were the only cars that should logically be rehabbed. Rehabbed baggage-dorm cars were used on Amtrak East Coast routes from the early 1980s until 1996. When Amtrak received its new Viewliner and Superliner II sleeping cars in 1996, some of the Heritage 10-6 sleepers were turned into crew dorms, and the dorms became unnecessary. When Amtrak received the Superliner II coaches, some of the Heritage coaches which had been replaced were turned into baggage cars. Thus, baggage-dorms became unnecessary, and all were retired. The Viewliner II orders included 10 baggage-dorms and 4 are currently in service on the Crescent route. 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 Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...
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 Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
.


See also

* Bruck *
Combi aircraft Combi aircraft in commercial aviation are aircraft that can be used to carry either passengers as an airliner, or cargo as a freighter, and may have a partition in the aircraft cabin to allow both uses at the same time in a mixed passenger/fre ...


References


Bibliography

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External links


Virginia & Truckee Railroad Combination Car No. 16
— photographs and short history of a Combination Car built in 1874. Freight rolling stock Passenger railroad cars {{rail-transport-stub de:Halbgepäckwagen fr:Fourgon ferroviaire sv:Resgodsvagn