Anyway I miss the slumbercoach and the fact you paid alot less for a private room than you do today. I always made a point of having an upper single room vs. lower - and I remember the ex-NYC cars (Harbor series - ex. roomette sleepers) as having additional space for some of the single rooms.

Since most of my frequent travel was in 70's and 80's I have come across some old ticket receipts:

RT NYP-CHI July 1985 Slumbercoach $165.00
RT NYP-CHI Aug 1986 Roomette $341.00

NOW:
RT NYP-CHI Aug 2004 Viewliner $632.00
(if I booked it tonight}

RT NBK-WAS April 1983 Coach $54.00
NOW:
RT NBK-WAS April 2003 Coach $142.00

The value of the dollar in 1986 was greater than the dollar now holds in 2004.

You need to use an indexing tool that will account for inflation between years.

Here's one: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/bu2/inflateGDP.html

Recently, on another board, I was able to compare 1962 and 2004 fares, accommodation for accommmodation.

John