I have three volumes of The Official Pullman Standard Library (Randall and Ross) covering prewar and postwar SP cars and NYC cars. As might be expected from the title, this provides very detailed coverage of streamlined cars, including a quite large gatefold reproduction of the original floor plans, along with simplified side elevations of both sides of each type of car.
SP in June 1936 ordered two 48 seat fluted stainless steel coaches for the Daylight, one for each train set in the familiar red and orange. In December 1936, seventeen cars to the same design were ordered, two in red and orange for the Sunbeam, but the remaining fifteen arrived in Pullman green without any lining for use on other trains.
It was the same with the articulated coach pairs ordered at the same time, four sets in red and orange for the two Daylight trains and five sets in Pullman green.
In each case more cars were green than in red and orange. Some coaches from a 1940 order were also delivered in green.
The same book suggests that Muskingum River (included because it ended up on the Lark after both observation cars were destroyed in rear end collisions) was sheathed in aluminium, not stainless steel, as other references (including Dubin) suggest. The floor plan doesn’t clearly indicate the material.
The berths being operated by the passenger was usual in Australia, across all systems, although that wouldn’t have worked with the earliest Mann type sleepers where the seat back was lifted up and the seat base was lowered to remove the backward tilt, and then the berths were made up. I only ever travelled on one such car and the berths were made up on departure.
There were a few cars with Pullman sections, but I only travelled on one of those on an official inspection train and again my berth was made up on departure. Only two of the berths were made up, since the car was basivcally for additional passengers, the remainder having berths in the business car attached.
I think that since there were effectively no Pullman sections in use post WWII in Australia, and all the berths were made up in the later Mann type compartments, it became usual for passengers to lower their own berths when required.
The Aurora was all first class sleeping, the train having fourteen cars all up. Ten of these were sleeping cars, five roomette cars with zig zag c