chair car

plural chair cars

1. CanadaUSdatedrail transportA railway car equipped with reclining armchairs, for passengers travelling at night who do not wish to ride in a sleeping car.

   Going up to Ottawa that evening in the train, lying back in the chair car with the blind up, seeing the lights coming on in the barns […]

   1958, Hugh MacLennan, chapter 1, in The Watch That Ends the Night, section 3, page 93

   2 more examples

   The Providence Railroad, by which passengers from the boat continue to Boston, is one of the best appointed in the country. Its Chair Cars are a great luxury, and add much to the comfort of tourists.

   1874, John B. Bachelder, Popular Resorts, and How to Reach Them, page 142

   When the train clanked in he was out on the cement platform, peering into the chair-cars, and as he saw her in the line of passengers moving toward the vestibule he waved his hat.

   1922, Sinclair Lewis, chapter 25, in Babbitt, page 294