Originally Posted by
nerd
It's not possible to see where you'll be in relation to the dining car, because there's no way of knowing whether the sleepers will be in the front or rear of the train. (The dining car and Sightseer Lounge will be in the middle.)
I'm sorry, but that is not correct. On the Zephyr, provided that one is not assigned a room in the Trans/Dorm, the sleepers will be on the rear of the train. The 631 sleeper is right next to the dining car, and the 632 sleeper is on the opposite side of the 631 sleeper; meaning one would have to walk through the 631 car to reach the diner. The Sightseer Lounge is on the other side of the dining car.
The 640 sleeper is the Trans/Dorm which is near the front of the train, and would require walking through 2 or 3 coach cars to reach the lounge and then the diner.
On the SW Chief, all sleepers are at the front of the train. Starting from the engines and working your way towards the read, you would find the baggage car, the Trans/Dorm car #340, followed by the 331 sleeper, the 330 sleeper, the dining car, and then the lounge car followed by the coaches.