It’s actually a format that’s common on the coasts and long on history. It also allows tenants a ton of convenience.
An Accurate Definition
A railroad-style apartment is long and skinny, with a singular hallway running the length of the unit floor through, from front door to back. The various rooms of the apartment are aligned on one side of the hallway, often in the order from living room and kitchen in the front to bedrooms in the back. As its name suggests, it’s set up like a railroad sleeping car, with a walkway down one side of the car and a series of successive rooms along the other, with doors opening into the hall.
Available but less common is a railroad-style apartment with a center hallway and rooms jutting off to both sides. This version is akin to railroad car with a central walkway and staterooms on either side.
Railroad apartments should not be confused with shotgun-style apartments. Shotgun units, which are similarly elongated and narrow, do not contain a connecting hallway but rather employ directly-connected rooms.
A Truly American History
Railroad-style apartments were born of necessity, rather than form. They originated in New York City in the mid-1800s, often as part of tenement buildings, as a solution to rampant overcrowding. The first railroad-style apartments were extremely slim and uncomfortable and were frequently found in multi-level walk-up buildings.
This model of apartment was the perfect solution to house three distinct manner of tenants common to the turn of the century: multiple immigrant families from the same cultural background who spent more time at work than at home, groups of single males, and large multigenerational families.
But as modern apartments emerged, comfortable and contemporary railroad-style floor plan units became very popular in and around New York City – primarily in now-trendy Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Williamsburg and Bushwick – and in the Bay Area of California as well.
The design continued to spread around the nation, mostly in urban and near-suburban areas, and can now be found within a multitude of building types such as detached dwellings, multi-story apartment buildings, townhomes, row homes, and subdivided brownstones.
Unique Architecture
Whether your true railroad apartment is in a wonderfully restored, desirable neighborhood in the city or in an up-and-coming suburban core, be sure to enjoy the unique architecture and interesting decorating opportunity while appreciating the enduring history of this truly American style dwelling.
