page_title: Troop sleeper
section_title: Background and development
hierarchical_section_title: Troop sleeper / History / Background and development
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. Army Troop Kitchen Car #8762, at the Lafayette, Indiana shops of the Monon Railway on April 17, 1947. Taken by the collection of the Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information at the Library of Congress.
context_page_description: In United States railroad terminology, a troop sleeper was a railroad passenger car which had been constructed to serve as something of a mobile barracks for transporting troops over distances sufficient to require overnight accommodations. This method allowed part of the trip to be made overnight, reducing the amount of transit time required and increasing travel efficiency.
context_section_description: Between December 1941 and June 1945 U.S. railroads carried almost 44 million armed services personnel. As there were not enough cars and coaches available to meet the massive need for troop transit created by World War II, in late 1943 the U.S. Office of Defense Transportation contracted with the Pullman Company to build 2,400 troop sleepers, and with American Car and Foundry to build 440 troop kitchen cars.
  This new rolling stock was either converted from existing boxcars or built from scratch based on Association of American Railroads standard 50'-6" single-sheathed steel boxcar designs, and were constructed entirely out of steel with heavily reinforced ends. In some instances baggage cars were converted into temporary kitchen cars before ACF could complete its order. The cars were painted the standard Pullman Green and affixed with gold lettering. Along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's "Surf Line," trains consisting of 10-12 former Southern Pacific interurban trailer cars, owned by the U.S. Maritime Commission but bearing Santa Fe markings, were fitted with conventional knuckle couplers at each end of the trainset and pressed into service to handle the additional passenger loads.
  Equipped with special Allied Full Cushion high-speed swing-motion trucks, Pullman troop sleepers were designed to be fully interchangeable with all other passenger equipment. The units came equipped with end doors similar to those found on standard railway cars, but had no vestibules. Loading and unloading of passengers was accomplished via wide doors positioned on each side at the center of the cars with built-in trap doors and steps. Light and ventilation was provided by ten window units mounted on each side, each equipped with rolling black out shades and wire mesh screens.
  Troop sleepers, generally intended for use by enlisted personnel, were equipped with bunks stacked 3-high, and slept 29 servicemen plus the Pullman porter. Every passenger was provided with a separate Pullman bed, complete with sheets and pillowcases that were changed daily. The berths were laid out in a cross-wise arrangement that placed the aisle along one side of the car, as opposed to down the center. Though the upper berths were fixed, the middle and lower sections could be reconfigured into seating during the daytime. Weapon racks were provided for each group of berths. Four washstands (two mounted at each end of the car) delivered hot and cold running water. The cars also came outfitted with two enclosed toilets and a drinking water cooler.
caption: United States Army "Medical Department Kitchen Car" #8762 sits at the Lafayette, Indiana shops of the Monon Railroad on April 17, 1947.
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