Optional car
An optional car was a railroad car that could be used for a variety of uses by adding or removing some parts. In some cases the whole structure was replaced. The optional wagons (optional = optional) were used from 1880 by the German regional railways and various Swiss narrow-gauge railways, especially in rural areas .
Carriages that could be used as passenger , mail or freight cars were common. As a passenger car, the vehicles ran in the third or, if (still) offered, fourth class and usually had entry platforms with front doors. The rows of seats inside could be dismantled for use as a boxcar . Additional sliding doors at the side made loading and unloading possible. Open freight wagons could be converted to summer wagons in the warm season .
Facultative wagons were procured from the German State Railways , mainly at the instigation of the military, to transport simple soldiers. But even in the First World War, ordinary freight wagons were often used for this.
Otherwise, optional wagons were mainly used by railways that had seasonal traffic peaks, such as bathing traffic, pilgrimages, and public festivals.
Individual evidence
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