Latest Sleeper Coach Shows U.S.A. Is Wide Awake
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ANEW-TYPE sleeper coach has appeared on the road in America. It is lighter, roomier and is air conditioned, and represents the last word in comfortable travel by coach, These new "bedrooms of the road" have been designed by Sleeping Coaches, Inc.
As in the railway sleeper, the passengers are accommodated in longitudinal berths arranged in two banks. There are four compartments on each side, each made up of two berths. The upper berth is 33 ins, wide and sleeps one person, and the lower is 36 ins. wide, with space for two passengers. The coach can sleep 24 persons in all, but when the upper berths are folded up to the roof in daytime there is room for 32 passengers.
A36 When arranged for sleeping, an aisle is left between the berths.
Air-conditioning plant has been incorporated to solve the problem of proper ventilation and heating. Each berth has its own inlet, which can be adjusted to the separate requirements of each passenger.
This inlet is supplied from a main source taken from a vent at the front of the coach, where the air is filtered and heated before continuing its journey to the berths. Heat is regulated by the driver, and, when the weather is hot, the heating equipment can be removed and replaced by a cooling apparatus.
Dowmetal is the material of which the coaches are mainly constructed. It is a magnesium alloy which is approxi
mately three-quarters the weight of duralumin, and is claimed to be almost as strong.
Overall, the height of the sleeper is well within the limit for this type of vehicle, being 10 ft. 6 ins., instead of the maximum of 12 ft.; it just conforms with the overall dimension limits, with a length of 33 ft. and a width of 8 ft. The new material has enabled the manufacturer to reduce weight from the usual 20,000 lb. to 11,500 lb.
Little attention has been paid to streamlining, as the maker believes that comfort comes before speed. In any case, as the coach is provided with lavatory accommodation, long distances are practicable without stops, enabling remarkable average speeds to be accomplished.