their own distinctive designs for observation ends. For example, the Milwaukee Road’s passenger trains were often rounded out with either a “Skytop Lounge” or a finned “Beavertail observation” the latter due to noted industrial designer Otto Kuhler. The Milwaukee's observations were easily recognizable as the observation end of the cars were not only rounded, but also slanted toward the front of the car, often with windows extending up from the normal window height to the roofline. The Milwaukee's observations, including the Skytops, lacked a drumhead, whose place was taken by a large oscillating rear light; instead, each tapered side carried the generic Milwaukee script name "Hiawatha" embossed on stainless steel trim flanking this light. The Milwaukee's Skytops—four parlor cars built in the railroad's own shops and six sleepers built by Pullman-Standard—were designed by noted industrial designer Brooks Stevens. Six railroads bought dome-observation cars from Budd — the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, and the Western Pacific Railroad for use on their joint California Zephyr, and the Canadian Pacific Railway for The Canadian and The Dominion. The WP touted this combination car type as "the best of both worlds" in passenger amenities. Budd also built observation cars for the Wabash Railroad for their Blue Bird trains between Chicago and St. Louis, and for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway for the Chessie which never went into service. The C&O cars were sold to the Denver & Rio Grande and ran on the Royal Gorge. Modern use As described above, the observation car on scheduled passenger trains has largely fallen victim to increased operational costs. An outstanding exception is Via Rail's Canadian, which still operates on every triweekly trip between Toronto and Vancouver with the same dome observation-lounge cars in use on the train since 1955. On several long distance Amtrak routes outside the Northeast Corridor where most trains are equipped with Superliner cars, there are Sightseer Lounge cars. These combine extra window exposure on an upper observation level with a lounge area and dormitory facilities on lower levels of the trains, though are generally placed mid-way through the train's consist. Some modern European trains, typically operating in the push-pull mode, are fitted with observation cars on one or both ends. The driver is located in a cabin on the side of the passengers, or above them like in the Swiss GoldenPass. The German ICE control