ZZZZZZZZZZZ … Sleeping on a Train

I’m frequently asked what the sleeping car accommodations are like on Amtrak’s long-distance trains. It’s a hard question to answer because there are a lot of options. Superliner cars on the western trains are a lot like the Viewliner cars on the eastern routes. Both offer roomettes and bedrooms, but there are some small but significant differences.

For instance there is a small sink and small toilet in Viewliner roomettes, but no such facilities in roomettes on Superliners. Both roomettes have an upper bunk, but whoever draws the upper bunk on a Viewliner gets a window. No such luck on the Superliner.

Because the bedrooms and roomettes are so compact – that’s a nice word for “small” – it’s very hard to get a decent photograph … or, rather, a photo that will accurately convey what each room looks like. However, Amtrak has recently added a neat little feature to their web site that provides a virtual tour of their sleeping car facilities. It’s fun to fool with and it will tell you about the amenities for each of the various accommodations and give you a good idea of what they all look like. Go here to check it out.