When I was about 10 years old, I was coming home to Maryland from West Virginia and I took the train (the B & O) with my grandmother. We traveled from Parkersburg, WV to Baltimore, MD, riding in a Pullman, and that was the first time I had ridden overnight in a compartment. I remember that it was a fairly small space but VERY cool! There was an upper and lower berth and at least the upper had a door like a car trunk. I think you had to use a key to open the lock and then the door came forward and inside there was a bed. I think that the lower berth was open and acted as a sofa but then could be made up into a bed. I know I got the upper berth while my grandmother had the lower. I actually don't really remember how I got up to the top but I think there was a ladder.
I think you can see how the cars connect and to get from one to the other you actually had to open the door to one car, step onto a kind of platform and open another door to go into the connecting car.
I remember getting up in the morning as I had done on other train trips and being called to the dining car. There were different shifts for dining and I am not sure how they were assigned. I do know that we had to wait our turn whether it was the 1st, 2nd or 3rd seating. There were white table cloths on the tables with gorgeous blue B & O dishes and it all looked beautiful to me. It was always a delightful experience and the B & O trains had THE best food!
I mostly remember having a wonderful trip - the train whistle, the train rumbling through the night, watching the passing scenery, making our way from car to car trying to keep my balance and just being with my beloved grandmother.
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