Dining car in the context of "Passenger car (rail)"

A passenger railroad car or passenger car (American English), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (British English and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (Indian English) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passengers, usually giving them space to sit on train seats. The term passenger car can also be associated with a sleeping car, a baggage car, a dining car, railway post office and prisoner transport cars.

The first passenger cars were built in the early 1800s with the advent of the first railroads, and were small and little more than converted freight cars. Early passenger cars were constructed from wood; in the 1900s construction shifted to steel and later aluminum for improved strength. Passenger cars have increased greatly in size from their earliest versions, with modern bi-level passenger cars capable of carrying over 100 passengers. Amenities for passengers have also improved over time, with developments such as lighting, heating, and air conditioning added for improved passenger comfort. In some systems a choice is given between first- and second-class carriages, with a premium being paid for the former.

The Compiègne Wagon (2419D) was a train carriage in which the armistices of the First World War and the Battle of France in World War II were held. The wagon, which was a dining car, hosted both treaty meetings at the same spot in the Forest of Compiègne, France almost 22 years apart. It was built by the Belgian-founded French company Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits in May 1914. The company was known for supplying and operating luxury trains with sleepers and dining cars.

During the First World War, the Compiègne Wagon had been the dining car on the personal train of Marshal Ferdinand Foch. In November 1918 it hosted the armistice talks between the Allied Powers and the German Empire. After the war, it was put on museum display at the Glade of the Armistice in France. However, after the victorious invasion of France by Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, in a symbolic act to show total subjugation of the French, had the wagon moved back to its exact spot of the 1918 Armistice for the signing of the 1940 Armistice. After the signing, the Glade of the Armistice was destroyed and the Compiègne Wagon was taken to Germany. It was destroyed by the SS near the end of World War II.