Background: The Observation Cars

The observation cars are great places to spend time, especially on the trains in the West, where they're bilevel "Superliner" cars with large curved windows running the length of the car on the top and both sides. You get a fantastic panoramic view in all directions. One end of a Superliner observation car has large upholstered chairs facing out each side of the car and the other end has tables. In the East, most observation cars just have standard side windows.

People congregate in the observation cars to watch the scenery and talk, read, use their laptops, play cards, paint, sketch, knit, write post cards and keep up their diaries. They've been called the town squares of the trains because they're gathering spots for people of all types.

The observation cars, along with the dining cars, help create a relaxed and pleasant community environment. Fortunately, they don't have any blaring TVs with perpetual news scrolls about the latest controversies, crimes, crashes and celebrity crackups, unlike so many other public places these days. Let's hope it stays that way.