Passenger Trains > Chair cars vs. Coaches

Some old passenger train scheduled list both chair cars
and coaches. What is the difference?

It's mainly just a difference in nomenclature.

I believe that at least on some lines the difference was whether there were individual seats that might recline (I think that those were "chair cars") or simply bench seats that didn't recline, as still exist today on many commuter railroads (I think that those were "coaches").  I'm more comfortable about the distinction than I am about which was which--someone else may be able to correct me.

There was quite a discussion about this a few weeks ago.
I think it was generally agreed that a chair car was a step up from a coach: individual reclining seats, leg rests, more spacing (leg room).
As an example:
I know that the Coast Daylight cars were lettered "Chair" on the car ends.
I imagine if you rode the secondary Coast Mail, it would be coach and the car would even be lettered as such.
SR

On the other hand, there was Northwestern Pacific's Train 3-4, the "Redwood" which was described
in parent SP's 1962 timetable as equipped with a "Streamlined, Air Conditioned Chair Car."

This was a Budd RDC, the ever-famous SP #10 with regular Budd Car seats upholstered in
prisoner-grade rubberette. 

"Chair Car" was not the only way in which the truth was stretched.  In later years, only the
front half was air-conditioned.  Streamlining was only indicative of its not having a
clerestory or Harriman roof.

Ironically in earlier years, NWP rostered both "coaches" and "chair cars."

I think the Santa Fe labled all of their coach equipment, both heavyweight and streamlined, as Chair Cars. 

Not long ago I read on UP's Heritage Fleet website the differences and explanations.
The car   Katy Flyer   is listed as a coach
The cas   City of Salina   is listed as a chair car
A coach consisted of bench seats and was intended and designed for urban useage
A chair car consisted of individual reclining seats and was designed for long-distance travel and was also formated with separate men's and women's restrooms with wash basins.
Hope this helps show the differences.
Brian Stevens

The term "Chair Car" continues to be used in India to refer to what you describe as Chair Car, minus the separate men's and women's toilets.. The term Coach is not used there for anything.

Latebeans Wrote:
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> I think the Santa Fe labled all of their coach
> equipment, both heavyweight and streamlined, as
> Chair Cars. 

Santa Fe, SP, and others, used the term chair car to designate a car equipped with reclining seats. A coach referred to a car with walkover, non-reclining seats.

CPR_4000 Wrote:
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> It's mainly just a difference in nomenclature.

There were differences on a number of roads that used these terms.

I was told many years ago while traveling as a little kid with my family in the 60's. Coaches and Chair Cars were almost exactly the same, the difference being that a Chair Car was better because it had a center arm rest.
Anything with a walkover seat was just a commuter car.

Back in the day., many trains listed both coaches and chair cars.  In my experience, the coach was on the head end, and carried short distance passnegers, deadheads, anda the crew HQ'd in that car, which was decidedly less luxurious than the following chair cars, which tended to be equipped with reclining leg rest seats, and much larger rest rooms.  Going even further back in time, the coach would likely have walkover seats, whereas the chair car would have reclining seats.  AA

Stanford White
Carmel Valley, CA