I was lucky to enjoy a number of overnight trips in sleeping cars. My father was in the Navy so the family moved a lot while I was growing up.
The first trip that I recall was on the Cascade from Seattle to Oakland. The Great Northern / Northern Pacific / SP operated through sleepers in the early fifties. My younger brother and I had a blast running through the train. My mother was not amused. The air-conditioning was broken in our sleeper. It was very hot. I think we spent most of the night in the observation car.
Our next trip was Seattle to Chicago to Pittsburgh. We took the mid-fifties Empire Builder. This train did not have dome cars. The Empire Builder was a wonderful train with first class sleepers and diners. My brother and I shared the top bunk while my mother had the bottom bunk. We had to change trains and stations in Chicago to get to Pittsburgh. The sleeper on the PRR train was awful and the AC didn't work. We spent the trip in the observation car. My mother endured the trip at the bar while my brother and I slept on the observation car's floor. All of were thankful when we got off the train at 2 a.m. in Pittsburgh where my father met us.
My next overnight train trip was on the El Capitan from LA to Chicago and return during a Boy Scout trip. The El Capitan was a first class high level coach train. The Fred Harvey service in the diner was outstanding. Although the seats were comfortable, I had trouble sleeping sitting up on this trip. I spent many hours in the lounge car. When my scout group got to Chicago, we changed trains and took a Milwaukee overnight train to St. Paul in coach.
On the return to Chicago, we took a Soo Line overnight milk train from a small town in upstate Minnesota whose name I don't recall. I do recall the classic small town hamburger cafe where we ate before boarding the train. This trip was unusual because we boarded a coach that was parked on a siding at about 6 or 7 p.m. A train came by at about 8 p.m. and picked up the coach. The train that picked us up had four or five cars. The train stopped at many small towns all night and did switching. It was hard to sleep as our coach was banged back and forth. We arrived at one of Chicago's big stations at about 9 a.m. The train had over 30 cars including about 8 coaches full of people and the rest were milk cars. This train didn't have any dinning facilities.
My next overnight train trip was on the Cascade from Oakland to Portland. This trip was in coach. I recall that this train had one of the SP's triple dinning / lounge cars. I spent many hours there. It was fascinating to watch this car move through the curves. I had a good meal in the dinner. The Cascade did not have through cars to Seattle by this date. I had to change platforms to Union Pacific coach train to go onto Seattle.
My next overnight train trip was on a New Haven train from Providence to Baltimore. I boarded a NH sleeper in Providence at about 9 p.m. The car was picked up by the train at about midnight. I had a roomette and was jolted awake by the movement. The car was switched to a PRR train at Pennsylvania Station in New York for the trip to Baltimore. I think I arrived in Baltimore at about 10 a.m. The was a wonderful trip.
The next overnight trip was on an Amtrak coach train from Bridgeport, Ct. to Washington D.C. This trip was bad because the Amtrak crew was surly and refused to dim the coach lights so that passengers could sleep.
My next trip was on Amtrak's California Zephyr from Oakland to Chicago. This was a great trip. I had a roomette. The service was good and the food was excellent. The only downside was that the train was about 5 hours late getting to Chicago. This didn't bother me because I was staying at a hotel. Passengers who were booked on to New York missed their connecting train.
Finally, I had the pleasure of taking the Rocky Mountaineer / Canadian from Vancouver to Toronto. Others have described this trip. I believe that this is the best train trip anywhere on this continent. The refurbished 1950's cars on the Canadian can't be beat. I loved sitting in the domes and watching the scenery and other trains. The food was outstanding on both trains.
NH Joe
