General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

6

Total Parts

6

AKA

Divider panel

Patents

N/A

General Description

Glass panels with lead cames

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

179.8 cm

Width

65.7 cm

Height

1.5 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Railway Transportation

Category

Rolling stock

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Unknown

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

Despite the fact that passenger service was not a profitable one for many railways, it was the only means of long-distance travel for many decades and, therefore, an essential public service. As with others forms of public transport, the railway companies offered various classes and types of service. Each class of passenger would have access to different amenities and levels of comfort. The amenities offered would also depend on the duration of the journey – sleeping or dining cars would only be offered on longer trips, for example. The extravagance of the fittings and furnishings of the cars would also depend on the clientele. Railways, much like shipping companies, used their passenger services, especially the first-class amenities, as a way to promote rail travel by creating a stylish and sophisticated image of their services, their vehicles, and their companies. Though railway companies lavished most of their attention on first class coaches, they did not neglect their other passenger cars. They would not use the most expensive materials or techniques – solid wood paneling and intricate carved and inlaid wood decoration – but they still insisted on creating stylish spaces. The CVR dining car for which these panels were made is a perfect example of this design approach. The wooden car had attractive elliptical or arched leaded glass transom windows above the car body windows and elaborate pressed tin ceiling and wall panels that gave the impression of decorative plaster or wood work (1975.1107).

Function

To separate the dining area from the kitchen space on a railway dining car.

Technical

There are several methods for creating stained and coloured glass including the addition of different metallic salts. Since classical times, artists have used this glass to create decorative panels by arranging pieces of different shapes, textures, and colours in patterns or pictures using metal strips and a frame to hold them in place. In the mid-19th century, railway companies and coach manufacturers began to pay more attention to their passengers by offering new services and improving the comfort and style of their coaches. Leading the way in this process were companies like Wagner and Pullman who produced a series of sleeping, parlour, and dining cars that came to be known as “palace cars” for their extravagant fittings and furnishings. In addition to the carved and inlaid wood paneling that was typical of these cars, designers also employed various forms of decorative glass work on windows, mirrors, cabinets, and dividers. In an average Pullman car, workers would use about 150 square feet of glass while the best parlour cars might have as much as 700 square feet. Though the CVR dining car was not nearly as extravagant as Wagner and Pullman coaches, it nevertheless shows that railways understood the importance of comfort and style in all classes of passenger service. These panels would have added a touch of romantic elegance to the dining car’s interior along with the transom arches which dressed up the interior and the otherwise generic exterior of this passenger coach.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

None apparent

Missing

Appears complete

Finish

Green, textured glass set in dark grey lead cames.

Decoration

N/A