Definition

Noun: A type of apartment, typically found in older urban buildings, in which the rooms are arranged in a straight line, one directly after the other, with each room connecting to the next via a door. This layout resembles the connected cars of a train.

Usage

This term is used to describe a specific, often narrow, architectural layout of a residential unit. It implies a lack of a central hallway; to get from the front room to the back room, one must walk through every intervening room. - The classic New York railroad flat has the kitchen at the rear, overlooking the air shaft. - They lived in a cramped railroad flat where the bedroom was at the very back.

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries connotations of older, sometimes less expensive or less private housing, due to the floor plan requiring passage through private spaces like bedrooms.
• It is frequently associated with specific cities known for their historic tenement buildings, such as New York City and San Francisco.

Variants and Related Words

• Railroad apartment: A direct synonym; the terms are interchangeable.
• Shotgun house: A similar architectural style for single-family homes, primarily in the Southern United States, where rooms are aligned front-to-back with no hallway.

Synonyms

• Railroad apartment
• Straight-line apartment

Antonyms

• Center-hall apartment
• Sprawling layout
• Open-concept apartment

Noun

1. an apartment whose rooms are all in a line with doors between them