The overall length of the berths in the Manors and Chateaus is 6 feet, 5 inches. This includes half the width of the partition walls at each end. The length in CP's steel sleepers which was 6 feet, 3 and one half inches for the sections at each end and 6 feet, 2 and three-quarters inches for the remaining sections. The wood and steel-sheathed cars had 6 feet, 3 inches for the end sections and 6 feet, 2 inches for the remainder. Contemporary Pullmans were close to those lengths.
VIA is quoting lenghts significantly shorter than the nominal lengths of the sections in their cars. They are clearly a different, more conservative, basis of calculations from the one used by Pullman.
Don Thomas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Box tbox-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]" <Canadian-Passenger-Rail-***@public.gmane.org>
To: "Canadian Passenger Rail" <canadian-passenger-rail-***@public.gmane.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 11:06:17 AM
Subject: [CanPassRail] Re: Lower berth
Post by Jon Calon jon.yg-E/5X+***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]Post by 'Ira Silverman' marcrail1-H+***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]The information on VIA's web site says a lower berth is 5'10"
long. Information from the Pullman Company says a lower berth
is 6'2".
the cars for VIA's sleepers weren't built by the Pullman empire.
The Pullman empire had been broken up a decade before the cars
in question here went into service.
Ira referred to "the Pullman Company". After World War 2, that
was a company owned by a consortium of railways, to operate
sleeping, dining and parlor cars. It was entirely separate from
the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company. The Pullman
Company operated cars built by Pullman-Standard, but it also
used cars built by Budd and other manufacturers. I don't know
how much variation there was in the dimensions of berths.
Nor do I know the answer to Ira's question about the length of
the berths. I've spent 100 nights in berths (93 in uppers, 7
in lowers -- I haven't noticed any difference in the length of
the mattress in upper vs. lower). Some were built by Pullman-
Standard (ex-Canadian National E cars), most by Budd (ex-Canadian
Pacific Château and Manor cars). I'm half an inch short of six
feet, and I've never had a problem with the length of the bed,
but I tend to sleep in on my side in a semi-fetal position with
my legs bent at both the hip and knee, so I probably wouldn't
notice if the bed was only 5'10" long.
<http://calzephyr.railfan.net/cars/consist.html>
says, of the 16-section sleeping cars built by Budd for the
California Zephyr, "From a 1951 timetable: 'Sixteen semi-
private sections, the first two of which are 6 ft. 8 in. long
for tall travelers.'"
I've never heard of some of the sections on Châteaux or Manors
being longer than others. I might not have noticed if it was
just a small difference, but I think I would have noticed if
some were 6'8".
Tom Box
tbox at ncf dot ca
Port Hope, ON, Canada
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Posted by: DON THOMAS <thomasd-***@public.gmane.org>
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