Most of my reports involve my traveling to and fro in an Amtrak Roomette, since I most often travel alone or with another male companion and neither of us mind going down the hallway to use the restroom and shower.  The companion has to agree to sleep in the upper (smaller) bunk because I have a bit of claustrophobia. 

However, when my wife travels with me, we get a Bedroom.  I use the upper bunk, but with more room beside the bed, I can look out into the room and I don't experience the claustrophobia I experience in the upper bunk of a Roomette.  I must admit, having a shower and toilet within the room is well worth the extra cost.  So, if I've misled my readers, in previous reports, into thinking that the roomette is acceptable for two people on their first train journey, I apologize.  My wife and I do travel in a roomette under these circumstances:  when we are not traveling overnight on the train.  That's the case for an upcoming trip on the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Sacramento for a rail conference.  It is not an overnight trip, but a roomette allows you to have a private compartment with access to the unique Parlour Car and three meals in the diner or Parlour Car are included in the price of the roomette.  Finally, a roomette on a day trip can be a private office on steel wheels.  I often write my reports on the return trip and the roomette gives me the privacy that I could not have in coach.  When I travel on long trips in a roomette I am able to work, more hours while on the train than anywhere else.  I only have to stop working to sleep and eat, and someone else is preparing the food!

More information about the Superliner Bedroom:

I said Hello to Bob (below left) from inside the sleeper vestibule.  The Conductor stepped off and respotted the train for coach passengers to board, while I ran through our sleeper, the diner, the Sightseer Lounge car, and half of the next coach  then downstairs to continue our conversation.  Bob has been proactive in getting the platform in La Plata improved for better accessibility, and perhaps only one spotting of  future Amtrak trains.

From Wikipedia:  The Fort Madison Toll Bridge (also known as the Santa Fe Swing Span Bridge for the old Santa Fe rail line) is a tolled, swinging truss bridge bridge over the Mississippi River that connects Fort Madison, Iowa and unincorporated Niota, Illinois. Rail traffic occupies the lower deck of the bridge, while two lanes of road traffic occupy the upper deck. It is widely considered the longest double-deck swing-span bridge in the world. Completed in 1927, it replaced an inadequate combination single-track / roadway bridge completed in 1887. The main river crossing consists of four 270-foot (82 m) through truss spans and a swing span made of two equal arms, 266 feet (81 m) long. In 1999, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places under the title, Fort Madison Bridge, structure #99001035. It was also documented by the Library of Congress Historic American Engineering Record, survey number HAER IA-62.

The bridge is privately owned by BNSF Railway. Amtrak's Southwest Chief crosses the bridge with one eastbound train in the afternoon and one westbound train in the evening. The station is two miles (3 km) to the west of the bridge. 75 to 90 trains cross the bridge in a typical day.

Per Coast Guard regulations and the BNSF Fort Madison River Bridge operations manual, river traffic has the right-of-way over train and vehicle traffic on the bridge. The length of time for an opening varies due to weather, river current, size and number of boats, and occasional mechanical problems. A typical opening for a tow with 15 barges will take 15 to 20 minutes. The bridge logs over 2000 opening per year.