The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1889-08-12
GEORGE NJ. PULLMAN.
THE STORY OF THE MODERN PAL
ACE CAR RETOLD.

Men Laugh-Cutting Platforms.
George NJ. Pullman was born in Brocton
Chautauqua county, and his birth year 1881
he lived In Brocton fourteen years and ther
moved to Albion, where he also resided four
teen years. At Albion he became acquainted
with Senator Ben Field, a member of the
state senate in 1876. Mr.. Field was inter
ested In legislation concerning sleeping cal
fares, and the Woodruff Sleeping Car com
pany, in acknowledgment of his interest il
their behalf, had given him the right to rur
thelr sleepers on couple Of western roads
While Mr.. Pullman was in Chicago in 1856
ne was called upon by Senator Field with a
request for several loans, and out of these &C.
commodat1ons an arrangement grew between
them to run sleeping cars on the Alton road.
fuIIman to pay the senator, who had secured
the right to run the cars, half of the prospec.
tive earnings. Matters wen on in this way
Tor short time, and meanwhile Field, who
had no business tact, lost his sleeping car SER
vice on the other two western roads which
had been given him. One day he came to
MIR. Pullman and told him that he had an Cd
portunlty t. buy back the privileges on the
oGher roads, and that he would like to sell his
nalt interest IN the copartnership line to Mr..
fuIIman. A bargain was struck and Mr..
Fullman paid his partner 50, 800. This was at
the opening of the war, when the night trains
ON the Alton road had been taken off by
The superintendent, who was a sympathizer
with the south, and VINO thought that before
the war was over grass would grow in the
streets of the north The outlook for the AL
ton road was very dubious. It is a singular
illustration of Mr.. Pullman's good fortune
shat he had hardly concluded the purchase of
MS partners half interest before business be-
came so good that the night trains were
started again and the sleeping car business
began at to make returns These sleep
ing cars on the Alton road, with which MI.
fullmans first experiments were tried, were
simply two ordinary passenger coaches,
winch he had changed into the cemmonest
KIND OF sleeping cars at slight expense. Fifty
cents was charged for berth, and the first
night, four berths were sold. About this
time the Pixies peak fever set in, and Mr..
Pullman gravitated west and spent two or
three years at Pixies peak. He returned in
1864 and again took up his sleeping car pro-
ject.
BEGINNING OF THE PALACE CAR.
In 1854 Mr.. Pullman, who had been giving
the sleeping car business close attention, and
who had become deeply interested in the
thought that there was wide field for in
Ventlve gen 8 in that direction, met master
car builder of the Alton railroad, who was
an old friend, and paid him 500 month to
take In charge the construction of a model
car. He obtained the privilege of using a
sned OF the Alton railroad in its yard at Chi
cago, and told the builder what sort of a car
ne wanted. The great question with him
was now TO have an upper and lower berth
that would be comfortable. They were at
that lime the narnct ms -
nights rest. Mr.. Pullman determined that
the new car should be the handsomest ever
made. Heretofore a sleeping car had cost
not more than ST. 900 or 81 800 Looking the
matter over and wondering how he could ar
range two berths that would be roomy, COM
PORTABLE and convenient, he was perplexed as
60 the disposition of the mattresses. At that
Glme all the mattresses were put away in one
Sectlon during the daytime In fact, the
early sleeping cars were simply used for
night cars and not run in the daytime.
Mr.. Pullman's idea was to have a car that
could be run on long trips either as day or
night car. With this object in view he
started to build the pioneer" He found
the mattresses could not be put on the floor
because of the dust and discomfort. There
was no place between the windows and he
finally said to his car builder, EsWhy not
hinge an upper berth near the roof and put
the mattresses in it when the berth is closed
during the daytime?" The car builder re-
Piled at once that the car was not high enough
and that the space would be too small. This
was before cars were built with raised stdecks,
or roofs. "Then," said Mr.. Pullman, 'why
not raise the carp The outcome of this con-
versatlon was direction that plans should
be drawn for a car as wide and as high as
he M b.
Guiding one hinged to the upper side of the
car. The plan was accurately drawn for a
iar one foot wider and two and one-half feet
higher than any car that had heretofore been
built in this country.
RAILROAD MEN LAUGH.
Of course railroad men who heard of Mr..
Pullman's plans smiled, and said that if MIR.
Pullman was railroad man he would know
better than to pursue his impracticabIep ropo-
sitions; that he he would only meet disaster
and lose all that he had But his conviction
was strong and clear, and with that pluck |
and audacity which have always charac-
5erized his clear sighted business policy, he
went ahead and the car was built The next |
question was the decoration Of it. Mr. Pull |
man determined that it should be the hand |
'omest car in all respects that ever had been |
made IN the country. He came on to New |
ork and there happened to meet the artist |
Who had just decorated the house of Samuel
J. Tilden. He at once closed with this artist.
ook him west and set him at work DECORATING
he car
When the Pioneer was finished it had COS,
me extraordinary sum of $4,000, a Lars
'rice even now for sleeping car. It was a
wonder to everybody. 1t was just as M
euilman had expected. The beauty of to
lmsh and the marvellous innovation he IL
made were advertised far and near by : 3
newspapers and by railroad men, and soue
If the latter began to believe that the iGeas
II the inventor after all were practicable.
The Pioneer was in process of building fos a
whole year. The assassination of Lincoln oc-
'urring at this time, it was suggested that
he Pioneer be used in the funeral train. and
was run from Springfield to Chicago on
he Alton road. AS had been predicted when
he ear was built, it was too wide TO run on
he roads as then constructed It was neces-
airy for the Alton road to send along its line
nd cut off the platforms that projected and
o make numerous changes at stations so that
he car, with its width Of an additional foot.
ould pass.
Thus the railroads had to make way for the
improvements that the convenience of ths
ravellng public demanded Everywhere
ne beauty OF the Pioneer was talked of, and
was not strange that soon after, when Gen.
rant came home, the use of the car was
sked to convey the great hero from Detroit
} Galena- The Michigan Central railroad
'as compelled to do precisely what the Alton
bad dld-cut its platforms, and in other 1