Bedroom or roomette, if single and the cost is not an issue?

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A Question: in the Viewliner roomette, if the upper bed is in place, is there enough room to stand up under it without hitting your head when the room is still in day time mode?
Nope. When the upper bunk is all the way down, it is basically resting on the light panels just above the seats, so even when you're sitting in one of the seats, it's only a few inches above your head.
 
I like the space in 2 adjoining bedrooms when I take the niece. With the wall open you get a wide panoramic view from both rooms as you see both windows at once. Here's what we bring on-board (plenty of room). And what we pack for the AT that might not make it on a plane! LOL Our pre-boarding picnic ritual. And on this months trip, was lucky to get this lounge car with extra-large windows...only seen it 3 times on the AT (it's a replacement for the regular lounge when in for service).

NOTE: can't delete pics after posting - will make smaller pics from now on. Resized in Paint to 20% and they STILL came out BIG!?!?

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Carts.jpg

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A Question: in the Viewliner roomette, if the upper bed is in place, is there enough room to stand up under it without hitting your head when the room is still in day time mode?
Nope. When the upper bunk is all the way down, it is basically resting on the light panels just above the seats, so even when you're sitting in one of the seats, it's only a few inches above your head.
This is true for Superliners, not so true for Viewliners, where there's a good bit more headroom--but not enough for standing up unless you're REALLY short. There is, however, enough room between bed and door to comfortably stand.

Also with the Viewliners, the upper bunk lifts rather than tilts, so it's a simple matter to lift it up a bit for more headroom. Only if someone's not occupying the upper bunk, of course.
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Viewliners:

I've never been in a Viewliner bedroom, so I can't speak to those. I will say that I prefer Viewliner roomettes over Superliner roomettes, though. The extra set of windows and white walls make the room feel so much bigger and brighter, and there are so many air vents that I was able to chill myself to the bone during a hot July day.
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I imagine I'd probably take a bedroom over a roomette for the reasons mentioned above. Again, I would only do this if the price were the same.
I've taken the Viewliner Bedroom once - for the five hour ride on the Crescent from Manassas to NYP. The plentiful space and enclosed bathroom were very nice, but I didn't like that the beds were perpendicular to the windows, meaning that I couldn't take in the views as well, and that in order for two people to sit next to the window, one person has to use the not particularly comfortable corner seat.
 
A Question: in the Viewliner roomette, if the upper bed is in place, is there enough room to stand up under it without hitting your head when the room is still in day time mode?
Nope. When the upper bunk is all the way down, it is basically resting on the light panels just above the seats, so even when you're sitting in one of the seats, it's only a few inches above your head.
This is true for Superliners, not so true for Viewliners, where \there's a good bit more headroom--but not enough for standing up unless you're REALLY short. There is, however, enough room between bed and door to comfortably stand.
Don't Superliner roomettes and Viewliner roomettes have the same seats? In which case wouldn't there be pretty much the same amount of headroom between the two?
 
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A Question: in the Viewliner roomette, if the upper bed is in place, is there enough room to stand up under it without hitting your head when the room is still in day time mode?
Nope. When the upper bunk is all the way down, it is basically resting on the light panels just above the seats, so even when you're sitting in one of the seats, it's only a few inches above your head.
This is true for Superliners, not so true for Viewliners, where \there's a good bit more headroom--but not enough for standing up unless you're REALLY short. There is, however, enough room between bed and door to comfortably stand.
Don't Superliner roomettes and Viewliner roomettes have the same seats? In which case wouldn't there be pretty much the same amount of headroom between the two?
To enable double-decking, Superliner decks have a lot less headroom on each deck, than single level cars have, to work with....
 
A Question: in the Viewliner roomette, if the upper bed is in place, is there enough room to stand up under it without hitting your head when the room is still in day time mode?
Nope. When the upper bunk is all the way down, it is basically resting on the light panels just above the seats, so even when you're sitting in one of the seats, it's only a few inches above your head.
This is true for Superliners, not so true for Viewliners, where \there's a good bit more headroom--but not enough for standing up unless you're REALLY short. There is, however, enough room between bed and door to comfortably stand.
Don't Superliner roomettes and Viewliner roomettes have the same seats? In which case wouldn't there be pretty much the same amount of headroom between the two?
To enable double-decking, Superliner decks have a lot less headroom on each deck, than single level cars have, to work with....
I know that, but I'm asking if the seats in Superliner roomettes are the same size as in Viewliners. Because if they are, someone sitting in a Superliner roomette should have the same headroom sitting with the top bunk down, above them, as on Viewliners.
 
A Question: in the Viewliner roomette, if the upper bed is in place, is there enough room to stand up under it without hitting your head when the room is still in day time mode?
Nope. When the upper bunk is all the way down, it is basically resting on the light panels just above the seats, so even when you're sitting in one of the seats, it's only a few inches above your head.
This is true for Superliners, not so true for Viewliners, where \there's a good bit more headroom--but not enough for standing up unless you're REALLY short. There is, however, enough room between bed and door to comfortably stand.
Don't Superliner roomettes and Viewliner roomettes have the same seats? In which case wouldn't there be pretty much the same amount of headroom between the two?
To enable double-decking, Superliner decks have a lot less headroom on each deck, than single level cars have, to work with....
I know that, but I'm asking if the seats in Superliner roomettes are the same size as in Viewliners. Because if they are, someone sitting in a Superliner roomette should have the same headroom sitting with the top bunk down, above them, as on Viewliners.
If the single level cars, have much higher ceilings to begin with, they can have the upper bunk in lowered position, at a higher point...hence more space below it, right?
 
I know that, but I'm asking if the seats in Superliner roomettes are the same size as in Viewliners. Because if they are, someone sitting in a Superliner roomette should have the same headroom sitting with the top bunk down, above them, as on Viewliners.
If the single level cars, have much higher ceilings to begin with, they can have the upper bunk in lowered position, at a higher point...hence more space below it, right?
Yes, but remember that the upper bunks always come down so that they're basically resting on the light and control panel immediately above the seats. And I know that that panel is almost exactly the same size between Superliners and Viewliners. So if the seats and the panel are the same size on both types, one would expect that someone sitting underneath the (deployed) top bunk, would have the same amount of headroom on both Superliners and Viewliners.
 
I know that, but I'm asking if the seats in Superliner roomettes are the same size as in Viewliners. Because if they are, someone sitting in a Superliner roomette should have the same headroom sitting with the top bunk down, above them, as on Viewliners.
If the single level cars, have much higher ceilings to begin with, they can have the upper bunk in lowered position, at a higher point...hence more space below it, right?
Yes, but remember that the upper bunks always come down so that they're basically resting on the light and control panel immediately above the seats. And I know that that panel is almost exactly the same size between Superliners and Viewliners. So if the seats and the panel are the same size on both types, one would expect that someone sitting underneath the (deployed) top bunk, would have the same amount of headroom on both Superliners and Viewliners.
I am not familiar enough with the Viewliner to judge, so I will concede your point.... and I suppose it makes sense to have the upper bunk low enough for easier access.....
 
On the Viewliners the bed can be lowered half-down, where there is enough room for a (well, this) 5'10" man to stand under it and still have it provide more sleeping/kid's play room than a Superliner roomette upper berth does when fully down.
 
I haven't read through al the posts.

But I'd definitely take the bedroom, because it's almost as good as the Sightseer Lounge. Not nearly as expansive , but private - if you keep the curtain open you get the view on both sides. You have to put up with the people passing through, many staring at you as they go through. The Family Bedroom avoids this. But it's lower level.
 
A superliner upper pivots from the wall and when lowered it does pretty much come to the top of the seats. The Viewliner upper travels vertically on a track, and can be locked halfway making it useful as a shelf or place to layout clothes. You can then push it straight up the rest of the way, With the upper window and higher ceiling, it is much less claustrophobic than a sl upper.
 
I talked my chiropractor into taking his family on a cross-country train trip. Five of them traveled on the Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago in a Family Bedroom and an adjacent Roomette. Obviously, a DC would be sensitive to such things, and he did not like sleeping in the Family Bedroom perpendicular to the direction of travel. He used an analogy I have read here before: that sleeping parallel to the direction of travel is the same motion as being rocked in a cradle, whereas sleeping in the other orientation is an awkward motion.

In my earlier post, I mentioned traveling in a mix of Roomettes and Bedrooms on an upcoming trip. I subsequently upgraded myself to all Bedrooms for that trip, and additionally selected Bedroom A. I have never felt that sleeping perpendicular to the direction of travel was uncomfortable. The only real advantage I see of a Roomette over a Bedroom is that it's better viewing scenery from the bed configuration in a Roomette because one can be looking forward out the window instead of sideways (as is from a Bedroom window--although I really enjoyed staying in bed all one day crossing Montana in a nice wide bed in my Bedroom in January). Also, in specific reference to room A versus other Bedrooms: being solo on that trip, I did not mind the sacrificed extra floor space, and I appreciated not hearing toilet noise or conversations from the adjoining room. When I travel with my wife, we're usually chatting anyway so I don't mind hearing personal noises from next door, and it's nice to have extra space by the chair when traveling with another person.
 
I talked my chiropractor into taking his family on a cross-country train trip. Five of them traveled on the Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago in a Family Bedroom and an adjacent Roomette. Obviously, a DC would be sensitive to such things, and he did not like sleeping in the Family Bedroom perpendicular to the direction of travel. He used an analogy I have read here before: that sleeping parallel to the direction of travel is the same motion as being rocked in a cradle, whereas sleeping in the other orientation is an awkward motion.

In my earlier post, I mentioned traveling in a mix of Roomettes and Bedrooms on an upcoming trip. I subsequently upgraded myself to all Bedrooms for that trip, and additionally selected Bedroom A. I have never felt that sleeping perpendicular to the direction of travel was uncomfortable. The only real advantage I see of a Roomette over a Bedroom is that it's better viewing scenery from the bed configuration in a Roomette because one can be looking forward out the window instead of sideways (as is from a Bedroom window--although I really enjoyed staying in bed all one day crossing Montana in a nice wide bed in my Bedroom in January). Also, in specific reference to room A versus other Bedrooms: being solo on that trip, I did not mind the sacrificed extra floor space, and I appreciated not hearing toilet noise or conversations from the adjoining room. When I travel with my wife, we're usually chatting anyway so I don't mind hearing personal noises from next door, and it's nice to have extra space by the chair when traveling with another person.

Re "sleeping parallel to the direction of travel is the same motion as being rocked in a cradle, whereas sleeping in the other orientation is an awkward motion." In April I took two overnight trains in Egypt, both of German mfg, both involving sleeping perpendicular to the direction of travel. I found it better, because trains can lurch, side to side, but they rarely lurch front to back. Therefore you are not thrown about as much by bad roadbeds if you ride perpendicular. [The roadbed was about like US roadbeds, maybe a little better than most.]
The Egyptian trains are "undersold." That is, people put them down, say the food is bad, etc. The food is about like airline food (coach in the olden days or across water). Not bad. And much easier than flying, which some in our party did, to their woe, including delays to early AM for departures, etc.
I recommend travel in Egypt. Mind-altering. Fun. Beautiful. Interesting. No problems.
 
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My experience (domestically) is like jloewen's, not like Maglev's chiropractor. I sleep quite poorly in a roomette, especially if completely horizontal, because of the rocking side to side on rough track. (A peculiarity of riding the Builder out of Whitefish is that it's a very smooth ride until Libby, then side to side constantly along the Kootenai River, then generally poorer track across WA.)
 
I’ve only been in a bedroom like 3 times over all my travels (roomette at least 100? Who knows). I much prefer the roomette. I like how the seating is laid out, and I like sleeping with the motion of the train.

I’ve spent a majority of my life sleeping on “entertainer coaches” which have the beds laid out the same as roomette, so pararallel wirh the Motion. That may have a reason for my roomette preference.
 
Yes, but remember that the upper bunks always come down so that they're basically resting on the light and control panel immediately above the seats. And I know that that panel is almost exactly the same size between Superliners and Viewliners. So if the seats and the panel are the same size on both types, one would expect that someone sitting underneath the (deployed) top bunk, would have the same amount of headroom on both Superliners and Viewliners.

I disagree with Coby's assertion here. In Superliners, the light panel is beside the head cushion, while in Viewliners the light panel is above the head cushion. Viewliner upper bunks are higher then Superliner upper bunks when they are completely lowered.

VIEWLINER ABOVE, SUPERLINER BELOW
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if traveling solo, I prefer the Roomette during the day for viewing outside. At night, in the roomette, I can sit up to watch the night time sights, which I often do. If I am wanting to sleep, the Bedroom is definitely better with the bed being perpendicular and no side to side rolling (I am a side sleeper). Now that my travel companions, my grandchildren, have grown, they prefer the extra room of the bedroom, especially at night. The girls prefer the extra space to get themselves "presentable".
 
I travel alone and generally travel in bedrooms on superliners and roomettes on Viewliners (for now). I definitely prefer bedrooms over roomettes for enclosed restroom, wider lower bed and more room overall.
 
With money not being an issue I would probably take the bedroom just so I didn't feel cramped. I'm taking my first long distance rail trip next month and I booked a roomette. Sleeping parallel to the direction of travel will be a new experience for me. I am a retired truck driver so sleeping perpendicular to travel direction is something I'm used to.
 
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