Roomettes

For 78 years travelers who went to bed on trains either slept behind the green curtains of standard Pullman berths or paid a premium to use walled compartments, drawing rooms or bedrooms. Last year Pullman Co. built two experimental sleepers, named them Progress and Advance (renamed California and Bear Flag), loaned them to various railroads in the East and West for tryouts. Progress was a crack modern observation car; Advance a de luxe double-decker with nine rooms "down stairs" and seven on the upper level reached by individual stairs. This spring another experimental car, the Roomette, was submitted to U. S. railroads (TIME, April 26). As a result of these experiments the Pullman Co. last week had 37 new Roomettes building in Chicago, plans for 60 more cars including improved drawing-room and compartment types.

When the new Pullmans take the road around the beginning of the year they will have four-wheel instead of six-wheel trucks. Four-wheel trucks are made possible by improved design and the use of lighter materials throughout. By using high tensile alloy steel, weight of the car has been cut from 180,000 Ib. to around 120,000 Ib. Complete welding of the sides removes all rivet heads and joints, makes them stronger and sleeker. Between cars are semi-articulated sections, and aprons between trucks conceal the car's mechanical equipment. More innovations: flush windows, entrance steps that roll out of sight, vestibule at one end only.

Inside, Roomette cars have 18 sleeping quarters, nine on each side of the corridor, and a porter's service compartment. Across one end of each roomette is a double seat with a folding arm rest. In an opposite corner is a toilet. Concealed in one wall are washstand and wardrobe. At night a bed 6 ft. 5 in. by 2 ft. 8 in. lets down from a 10 in. recess in the wall back of the seat, rests one end on part of the toilet (see cut). Over the single window is a Venetian blind. Because everything except the toilet and seats either hangs on, or disappears into the walls, most of the 5 ft. 10 in. by 3 ft. 7 in. floor area is left clear by day. At night, sitting on the bed the occupant has11 in. in which to swing his feet, but a roomette's real advantage is that morning or night the passenger can dress, undress and wash with the bed shoved up out of the way. Big disadvantage appears to be that at night the bed has to be moved out of the way before the toilet can be used. The roomette's door slides back into the wall and may be locked, or left open, steamship fashion, with a curtain drawn over the opening.

Roomette fares are to be approximately 40% above lower berth charges, but lower than the rates now charged for bedroom cars. Sample: Chicago-New York lower berth, $6.00; Section $8.40; Bedroom $10.80; Roomette, $8.40. If the increase in fares applied for in Washington last week by the Pullman Co. is granted, these rates will be increased by 10%.

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