This wooden car is a fine example of the simple, but handsome passenger-car design of the late 19th century. It is completely paneled in mahogany, and originally had ornate detail-work painted on the ceiling. The original seats were probably plain, wooden benches since this car was used principally for carrying passengers in short trips between towns. When operating in Hawaii, the exterior was also decorated with detailed scroll-painting.
Both the Oahu cars are furnished with an early-design railroad car "water closet." A tiny space, literally the size of a small closet, was walled off and protected with a door. Inside the "closet" a 15-inch hole was cut in the floorboards. Over the hole a funnel-shaped metal tube with a ten-inch opening at the top was placed, with a round seat on it, also of metal.
The toilet could be used only when the train was in motion, since refuse fell directly on the train tracks. Over the last century, passenger car restrooms have improved considerably; on modern Amtrak trains they are similar to airplane lavatories with containment tanks in many U.S. states. However, even today, passengers are admonished not to use the restrooms while the train is in the station, because in some areas refuse is still released directly onto the rails.