Intercolonial 495 - Exporail
The origins of this type of car, variously known as a combine, combination or composite car, are somewhat mysterious. Technically, any car with two or more functions could be defined as a combination car: passenger/luggage, post office/express, luggage/sleeping car, coach/luggage/mail, etc. However, it is customary to use this word only for cars that include a section for passengers and another for luggage and mail. The combination car was normally used on branch lines or less busy lines. It was usually the last car of a freight train, since it did not include a vestibule providing access to other cars. In the United States, because of racial segregation, The baggage compartment was often the only one open to black people. There, the combination car played a roll that did not exist in Canada. The American cars, consisting of two identical passengers sections separated by a central compartment, appeared in the 1840s, and were quickly nicknamed Jim Crowe cars by people advocating the abolition of slavery. The term Jim Crowe was a racist term that came into widespread use in United States during this period, and that eventually came to connote racial segregation.
Intercolonial 495 - Exporail
The origins of this type of car, variously known as a combine, combination or composite car, are somewhat mysterious. Technically, any car with two or more functions could be defined as a combination car: passenger/luggage, post office/express, luggage/sleeping car, coach/luggage/mail, etc. However, it is customary to use this word only for cars that include a section for passengers and another for luggage and mail. The combination car was normally used on branch lines or less busy lines. It was usually the last car of a freight train, since it did not include a vestibule providing access to other cars. In the United States, because of racial segregation, The baggage compartment was often the only one open to black people. There, the combination car played a roll that did not exist in Canada. The American cars, consisting of two identical passengers sections separated by a central compartment, appeared in the 1840s, and were quickly nicknamed Jim Crowe cars by people advocating the abolition of slavery. The term Jim Crowe was a racist term that came into widespread use in United States during this period, and that eventually came to connote racial segregation.