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definitions

observation car

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noun

a railroad passenger car having a lounge or platform from which the scenery can be viewed.

Origin of observation car

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for observation car

Historical Examples of observation car

  • Celia and I went out to sit on the rear platform of the observation-car.

    Beatrice Leigh at College

    Julia Augusta Schwartz

  • He was forced to remain partially inactive, though he paced from smoking to observation-car time and time again.

    Garrison's Finish

    W. B. M. Ferguson

  • The daddy had no easy time as he watched this tragedy of childhood from the observation-car.

  • Determined to be in all ways the complete tourist, I took a rough preliminary survey of Montreal in an 'observation-car.'

  • Into this rocky wilderness you plunge, and toil through it hour by hour, viewing it from the rear of the Observation-Car.

British Dictionary definitions for observation car

observation car

noun

a railway carriage fitted with large expanses of glass to provide a good view of the scenery
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012