Background: Sleeping Cars: What's a Roomette Like?

Roomettes are small private compartments for two people in the sleeping cars. By day, there are two large seats facing each other. At night, the seats fold down and become a lower bunk and a top bunk pulls down for the second bed. 

Roomettes are compact and ingeniously designed and every bit of space is put to use. It takes a little twisting and turning to climb into the upper bunk. Once you're there, a safety strap hooks into the ceiling to prevent you from falling out. You can pull curtains for privacy.

The sleeping car attendant puts the bunks together and makes up the beds (very tautly) as well as taking care of other needs of the sleeping car passengers. That includes setting out juice and brewing coffee in the morning, which is quite welcome.  

There are also bedrooms on the sleeping cars that are larger than roomettes. Roomette passengers use bathrooms down the hall on most trains, bedroom passengers have bathrooms in the rooms, and showers are available. 

Guy in daytime seat in roomette

Rick in upper bunk in roomette

Eddie, sleeping car attendant on Coast Starlight

Lower and upper bunks in roomette