It's interesting that an airline pilot would want to travel at 'see level' (old Amtrak commercial). 30+ Years ago, I used to fly a couple times per month on business and was truly stunned the first time I took the train through the Rockies (San Francisco Zephyr). Those 'little dimples' seen from 30,000 feet are actually quite huge! I was raving about how big they were to some of my friends and one of them said 'You have to see the Canadian Rockies.' They were soooo right! I now know what an ant in downtown Manhattan feels like! I'd definitely add a trip through the Rockies to your bucket list!
In answer to your questions, I typically travel with a roll-on airline overhead bin size bag (23x13.5x8.5) and a black 'gym bag' when I'm traveling for liesure. For those times I need to have a suit and tie, the garment bag substitutes for the gym bag. Either way, everything fits very nicely in a roomette. The roll-on fits nicely under the seat, although when the lower bed is made up, access is nil. If your roll on doesn't fit, sometimes removing a couple of items to make it compress a bit will do the trick. I had to do that a couple of times. If need be, on the lower level is a substantial shelf area that can hold the biggest of bags except, perhaps, a steamship trunk, although that might fit on the floor level of the shelf area.
The steps to the upper birth becomes the resting place for my gym bag with all my 'need access' items, including camera. Depending on whether you draw a Superliner I or Superliner II sleeper, there will be a 6" wide closet in the room in the Superliner I, or a substantial hanging hook with strap to secure what's hanging to the wall in the Superliner IIs.
In my opinion, the lower level roomettes (11-14) are better than upper level simply because there is less traffic by my door. Yes, the view outside is somewhat restricted compared to the upper level, but I can always go the door area and look out both sides or go upstairs and do the same. Additionally, alongside roomette #1 (usually the attendants' room) is a toilet. It gets almost ALL the traffic from the 10 upstairs roomettes and perhaps from other cars as well. That means the floor will frequently be wet. There's 3 toilets and a community shower downstairs at the opposite end from the roomettes. Far less traffic. Also, the top level of the car sways more than the lower level, another reason I prefer the lower level. As for 'middle of the car', roomette #2 is is close to the middle as one can get, but the upstairs toilet is 5 feet away and sometimes the door gets slammed shut. When I ride on the upper level, 3-6 is my preference. 9 & 10 are at the very end of the car, and the train door opening and closing can become annoying as is a rougher ride over the trucks (10 feet below). One other advantage of a lower...I can clean the outside of the window at longer stops if the platform is on my side!
Long rest stops...Ft Worth, Dallas and St Louis come to mind. If the train is reasonably on time, there's at least 20 minutes at FTW and DAL. As they add 1 or 2 cars at STL northbound, there's at least 20 minutes to stretch your legs. However...if the train is running late, FTW and DAL as well as any other 'longer' stops will have shorter dwell times. It's always a good reason to stay on the platform as when they call 'all aboard', you can get on any where and walk through the train to your car, if needed. In years past, I was maybe 50 yards away when they called 'all aboard' and it took a full sprint to get on before they closed the nearest door!
Other than that, have a good trip! I typically sit back and spend most of my time watching out the window. The seats in the roomette recline nicely and I can put my feet up and be extra comfortable when I want to.
In answer to your questions, I typically travel with a roll-on airline overhead bin size bag (23x13.5x8.5) and a black 'gym bag' when I'm traveling for liesure. For those times I need to have a suit and tie, the garment bag substitutes for the gym bag. Either way, everything fits very nicely in a roomette. The roll-on fits nicely under the seat, although when the lower bed is made up, access is nil. If your roll on doesn't fit, sometimes removing a couple of items to make it compress a bit will do the trick. I had to do that a couple of times. If need be, on the lower level is a substantial shelf area that can hold the biggest of bags except, perhaps, a steamship trunk, although that might fit on the floor level of the shelf area.
The steps to the upper birth becomes the resting place for my gym bag with all my 'need access' items, including camera. Depending on whether you draw a Superliner I or Superliner II sleeper, there will be a 6" wide closet in the room in the Superliner I, or a substantial hanging hook with strap to secure what's hanging to the wall in the Superliner IIs.
In my opinion, the lower level roomettes (11-14) are better than upper level simply because there is less traffic by my door. Yes, the view outside is somewhat restricted compared to the upper level, but I can always go the door area and look out both sides or go upstairs and do the same. Additionally, alongside roomette #1 (usually the attendants' room) is a toilet. It gets almost ALL the traffic from the 10 upstairs roomettes and perhaps from other cars as well. That means the floor will frequently be wet. There's 3 toilets and a community shower downstairs at the opposite end from the roomettes. Far less traffic. Also, the top level of the car sways more than the lower level, another reason I prefer the lower level. As for 'middle of the car', roomette #2 is is close to the middle as one can get, but the upstairs toilet is 5 feet away and sometimes the door gets slammed shut. When I ride on the upper level, 3-6 is my preference. 9 & 10 are at the very end of the car, and the train door opening and closing can become annoying as is a rougher ride over the trucks (10 feet below). One other advantage of a lower...I can clean the outside of the window at longer stops if the platform is on my side!
Long rest stops...Ft Worth, Dallas and St Louis come to mind. If the train is reasonably on time, there's at least 20 minutes at FTW and DAL. As they add 1 or 2 cars at STL northbound, there's at least 20 minutes to stretch your legs. However...if the train is running late, FTW and DAL as well as any other 'longer' stops will have shorter dwell times. It's always a good reason to stay on the platform as when they call 'all aboard', you can get on any where and walk through the train to your car, if needed. In years past, I was maybe 50 yards away when they called 'all aboard' and it took a full sprint to get on before they closed the nearest door!
Other than that, have a good trip! I typically sit back and spend most of my time watching out the window. The seats in the roomette recline nicely and I can put my feet up and be extra comfortable when I want to.
