Why no "viewing cars" on UK trains?

[Shakermaker]

I've been watching Michael Portillo American Railroad Journeys and it made me wonder - why don't we have any trains with the great big viewing windows like they do across the USA?

Sure, it might have to be a bit route specific, but I can imagine that the coastal lines, rather than the local commuter services, would be spectacular?

side note - how much bigger are their trains than ours? Same gauge but much taller/wider carriages?

[Simpo Two]

I suspect because we don't have thousands of square miles of beautiful vistas, because the UK railway system is run for commuters not tourists and they can barely do that as it is, because there's no money to build viewing coaches, and because they'd get the tops chopped off in tunnels.

[paul789]

Because we're a bunch of grumpy s who'd prefer not to gaze at mile after mile of track suits, retail parks, over-developed squalid towns or fields full of junk

[Equilibrium25]

Shakermaker said:

I've been watching Michael Portillo American Railroad Journeys and it made me wonder - why don't we have any trains with the great big viewing windows like they do across the USA?

Sure, it might have to be a bit route specific, but I can imagine that the coastal lines, rather than the local commuter services, would be spectacular?

side note - how much bigger are their trains than ours? Same gauge but much taller/wider carriages?

Yes, theirs are much bigger bodies running on the same gauge. It's the infrastructure that limits the size - i.e. bridges, platforms, tunnels etc.

It's the same clearance that allows them to run double-stack containers and piggy-back HGV trailer services, this sort of thing

Some of the scenic routes in Scotland used to have specific viewing coaches in the '80s, but that was just a converted ex-DMU driving car for all-around visibility. I think that some of the tourist trains might have something similar now, but really not sure.

[anonymous-user]

paul789 said:

Because we're a bunch of grumpy s who'd prefer not to gaze at mile after mile of track suits, retail parks, over-developed squalid towns or fields full of junk

[Wacky Racer]

There is a lovely viewing car on the Swanage-Wareham railway in Dorset, which passes Corfe Castle.

Well worth paying the small additional charge to travel on.

[NickCQ]

There's also one on the Paignton - Kingswear steam railway, lovely stuff.

[Wacky Racer]

NickCQ said:

There's also one on the Paignton - Kingswear steam railway, lovely stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA-VZopwxM4

[Shakermaker]

I've been on the Paignton - Kingswear and the Swanage Railway ones, both lovely.

[Simpo Two]

Apart from the small verandah on the back of one, I'm struggling to tell the difference between these 'viewing cars' and an ordinary carriage.

[Riley Blue]

Simpo Two said:

Apart from the small verandah on the back of one, I'm struggling to tell the difference between these 'viewing cars' and an ordinary carriage.

'Viewing car' means the windows are cleaned once a month rather than once every six months.

[ctdctd]

Sit at the front of the Docklands Light Railway - all the urban views you want and a budget roller-coaster ride to boot!

[Shakermaker]

Simpo Two said:

Apart from the small verandah on the back of one, I'm struggling to tell the difference between these 'viewing cars' and an ordinary carriage.

BUt the USA ones have massive panoramic windows into the roofline. I really like that look, personally. Maybe it would cheer everyone up if they could see the underside of the bridge over East Croydon station?

[alangla]

Our trains also run faster, as a general rule. One of the big causes of fatalities in the (thankfully few) accidents that have occurred over the last 20-30 years has been passengers being ejected from the coach via a broken window then run over by the train. I'm not convinced that a new vehicle with substantially larger windows, especially at cantrail level, would be able to pass the current crashworthiness requirements.
Also, the cantrail windows would probably end up filthy pretty quickly - have you seen the amount of crud that seems to be on the tops of trains in this country? Usually a combination of soot from diesel exhaust & general muck that seems to fall from the overhead wires. You also wouldn't be able to clean those windows near any sort of overhead electrification.

[hammo19]

No point as everyone is staring into a 4x2 phone screen - that's the extent of people's worlds nowadays.

[Flying Phil]

The Great Central Railway has an "Observation car" which was one of the "Beavertail" LNER coaches. Originally (1930's)it had a sloping glazed end to minimise air resistance of the train, but was then "Re-ended?" in the 1950's, and used as a "Scenic" viewing coach in the highlands.

[ninja-lewis]

The current Scotrail franchise has a requirement to introduce refurbished trains for 'scenic' routes.

Basically boiled down to standard carriages with seats aligned to the normaal windows.

http://scotlandb2b.co.uk/2015/09/01/new-look-scotr...

[Flying Phil]

Just to add to my post there are in fact Two observation coaches on the GCR in the care of the Railway Vehicle Preservation Group.

"Beavertail Coaches
E1719E Built at Doncaster in 1937. Operational.
E1729E Built at Doncaster in 1937. Undergoing restoration."

[simonspider]

Michael Portillo himself (on having a big part in saving the Settle & Carlisle line) has said on many occasions Northern Rail who operate the line would do well to have glass roofed coaches given the tourism already there. NR cite the investment required typically.

[Mach]

hammo19 said:

No point as everyone is staring into a 4x2 phone screen - that's the extent of people's worlds nowadays.

Sad but true.

I don't travel on trains very often but when I do I'm always concious that I appear to be the only person who actually does look out the window.