I have read references in pre-Amtrak time to “tourist sleepers.” From the context, they would seem to be some economy version of regular sleepers, but as regular sleepers consisted mostly of open sections (and one drawing room per car), what could they do to make them even cheaper?
John Kelley, New York City
I believe that many roads desingating ‘tourist sleepers’ removed the carpets and, in the case of private rooms, sealed the little boxes which held a passenger’s shoes to be shined by the porter. However, I also believe the Milwaukee Road’s Olympian Hiawatha ‘Touralux’ cars had carpeting and were streamlined. Most ‘tourist sleepers’ were 12, 14, or even 16 sections; the latter two lacked any drawing room. Possibly one of the Pullman experts among us knows more?
Jim Bradley Hawk Mtn. Chapter Natl. Ry. Hist. Society