Nostalgia & History > lightweight slpr - roomette

This room was designed for one person. The room had a nice wide seat, toilet, sink, closet, luggage rack, shoe shine box, and the fold down bed. When the bed was folded down, the toilet was covered. The sliding door had a mirror. There were hallway curtains, which zipped up. Early designed roomette beds were full width at the feet. When lowering the bed, one had to back into the hallway, so the zipped curtains gave one some privacy to lower the bed, and then shut the door again. Later designs had had narrow beds at the feet, giving sufficient space to put down the bed, without opening the door.

1: roomette - day occupancy
2: attendant lowering the bed
3: toilet

---

---

---

4: toilet
5: water spigot & towel closet
6: fold down sink

---

---

---

7: roomette light
8: two cozy kids in an SCL roomette

---

---

Great pictures, Mike; thanks for posting them.

That uniform looks like one of the early 1970s "Ike" jackets, complete with the Amtrak blazons on the sleeve. I'm really reaching into the memory banks, but I believe that Amtrak had both red jackets and white jackets. I think the white "Ike" jackets' blazons were red and blue, while the red jackets had blue and white blazons.

Thanks for sharing the photos. Most of the ones in this series appear to have been taken in a former Union Pacific "Pacific" series 10 Roommette, 6 Bedroom sleeper built in 1949 and 1950, based on the light fixtures and other hardware.

These are great photos.

My first ride on a Viewliner was about 4 years ago. I remain confounded how anyone thought it was anywhere near a good idea to jam a commode next to what amounts to a wall of glass. Its not pleasant to take a dump knowing that a thin curtain with cheap Velcro is all that separates the view from the old ladies and kids on the train.

Industrial design is something that seems to be completely lost on the rails today and I appreciate the flashes of brilliance that still show up on commercial aircraft.

I always preferred a roomette over a bedroom or compartment. One of the reasons was the bed folded down at window level. Nothing like being in a cozy roomette bed watching the frozen landscape pass by.

Bob

Except it was a good idea to pull down the blind when
you arrived at a lighted station!
Sid.

Ah, roomette memories. That lid over the commode made a great table for a bucket of ice, glasses, and a bottle of your favorite libation, with plenty of room left for mixers and garnishes. And the seat was large enough (with the armrests folded) to snuggle with your sweetie while you imbibed.

I wouldn't ever have tried spending an ENTIRE night with someone else in a roomette, but a visit from my friend across the hall was certainly welcome, and there were lots of opportunities to brace feet and arms in interesting positions.

Those Pullman designers were geniuses. A place for everything, and everything in its place. I didn't mind backing out into the hall in the curtains to lower the bed. I liked the extra foot room. I liked the folding sink too, despite the fact that my wedding ring is in the plumbing of a now-scrapped car.

Thanks for the memories.