Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-30
STERLING HELLO.
PALACE CAR DEVELOPMENT

Times When Women Were Not Ex-
pected to Eat While Travelling.
From the Boston Transcript.
One Of the earliest uses of an exclusive
railroad car in this part Of the country
was on the occasion Of the marriage Of
Jenny Lind. The great singer wishing to
pass her honeymoon far from the madding
crowd, hired a cottage in Pittsfield; and, in
order to be free from the intrusion Of i'm
pertinent starers, had passenger car Of the
pattern in use fitted for her use as a draw
ing room by the removal Of the seats and
the supply in their place Of luxurious house.
hold furniture. This fashion was frequent
ly adopted by other noted people of the
stage and by statesmen on an electioneer-
ing tour. Very likely the increased demand
for the luxury led to the invention Of a car
the use of which was for sale at retail. so
to speak-that is chair in it to be rented
to any one who came along. The early
efforts were constructed with a view to
privacy, being a series of apartments Of
various sizes. The open room, which has
been an encouragement to sociability, was
quickly evolved. 1t is interesting to notice.
by the way, that the latest device for q
drawing-room car is return to the apart
ment system.
Some of the early dining cars were rough
affairs compared with the luxuriously ap-
pointed dining rooms on wheels that are
days you were forced to stand up against q
counter built in the car, fore and aft, and
there feed at a trough almost literally one.
since the top of the counter was provided
with a ledge to prevent the plates from be-
ing tossed to the floor by the webbing carr
steadying your hand and arm with as much
skill as you could master, just the same as
on board ship. This luxury was for the use
of the sterner sex only; women in those
days were not expected to eat while travel
Ing. Clumsy as was this arrangement, 1t
was an improvement on the railroad res
taurant, into which you rushed to grab
your food and swallow it without going
through the process of mastication. and to
swallow a cup of boiling hot coffee-in your
haste your sense of taste was paralyzed so
that you were unable to tell what the scald-
ing beverage was-all the time in mortal
terror that the conductors Irritating shout,
"An aboard?' would come before you had
secured fair equivalent for your money.
The drawing room and sleeping cars Of
these days have come through process Of
evolution. Admirable as they are in many
ways as preventives of much of the weari-
ness Of long railroad journeys. they are still
far from perfect. The science OF heating
them has reached a high point, but In the
best of them. particularly the sleeping cars.
ventilation is never first rate. There are
many minor points that can be easily bet
tered. Why is 1t, for instance. that you
Is 1t because every passenger who can
afford the luxury Of the car Is supposed to
be furnished with Frodsham ch-onometer
or a Jurgensen repeater? Nevertheless the
clock would be appreciated, and 50, too.
would be time table, in big type, OF the
actual train on which you are travelling. AS
a bit Of evidence to show the slowness of
evolution, 1t is interesting to note that only
within a short time has there been built a
drawing room or sleeping car in which
every corner and edge are rounded Off so as
to prevent discomfort II you are tossed or
thrown against a partition or casing.