Railroad, Rolling Stock, Named Cars

During the heyday of passenger rail service many long distance lines took to naming rail cars as a way of identifying the type of cars in a particular train. Often, cars were named after geologic features found along the line. For example, the New York Central's passenger car series included cars named after rivers (sleepers), shore lines, (club/lounge), bays (roomette and sleepers), and creeks (sleepers, buffet- lounge-observation cars). Great Northern had similar naming conventions, including--pass (sleepers) and lake (dining). Other lines named cars after cities and states. And, still others named cars after people.