New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-10-24

Perhaps nothing more stror gly impr"sses
~eil-informcd European during his first WISH To
the United States than the provision which IL
made for his comfort and convenience when
travelling here by rail. and the elegance with
which he is surrounded under those circuin-
stances. However reluctant he may b" 10
concedc Americas supremacy, or even her
equality with other nations. in political ideas
In science. literature. or art. he quickly per
cciycs that in material civilization. at least IN"
Yankees can teach the Who'll. world a great deal;
and that this is particularly true Of the appoint
men,s Of passenger coaches on railway
4 number Of causes have contributed In this
Interesting dcveIopnent. competition between
railways and steamboat lines along the same
route ,as between Ncw-York and Albany. rival
ri,s between the railroads Themselves, that
great craze for consolidating local roads into ~
tcnsive systems such az Vanderbilt and Gould
organized Parallel with this historic evolution II
not an agent in promoting the latter. was the
perfection OF several such devices as IN" auto
matte coupler, the spring buffer. tho air brake.
the I'ntsch gas method II illumination IN"
storage battery and lncandcscent lamp and ap-
paratus for heating by steam But the most
potent factor Of all was the inventive genius
and special ambition Of George Pullman and
Webster Wagner
Sleeping ears were known. indeed. twelve or
fifteen years before these men heard of 10y
the public. But their designers had crude ideas
and never rose to the situation. They either
lacked Imagination or they had no confidence In
certain possibilities Of securing popular patron
age which Pullman and Wagner perceived.
AS early a. the winter OF 1896 81 less than
eight years from the time that the Stourbrid,e
Ii..fi 'frSt rail- Am, He'd
sleeping car was put IN operation between
chanbershusg and Harrisburg for the accom-
mediation Of P"nnsylvanians who were travel
ling To the stat" Capital This car was an .Y-
ceedingly primitive affair, but it continued in
service until 1S1S. The berths i'm il were. re-
modelled from those Of steamboats,. which
furnished sleeping accommodations before tn.
railroads did
other companies IN time. heard of this Penn
sylNdnia venture and made similar attempts bat
without making any marked improvement IN
the system. The roof was lower than il is
now the berths w"r. thr-c j -cp Gnstcad II twol
on on" or both sides. Frequently. ~. may say
generally, ther, w,r" no bedclothes pillows.
ana Inc mattresses were coarse and hard. Thn
Ia'ter were sometimes stored in compartment
al the end 81 the ear, and dragged along the bare.
dirty floor 10 their places wh N needed. Ilum-
nation was afforded at night 10y candles fed up-
ward by spiral springs as they burned or by
sperm ell lamps. Occasion lily Their. vas a
wash basin in addition 10 the other tpiI.t accom-
mOdations.
In lS'S the NcwYork Central was running
four sleepers Of this general class Some idea
"hlch originated with Thomas l.. Wopdrun were
embodied In them, but the designer and CON
s'ructor was Mr. Wagner, who began If. az a
wagon builder, and afterward became a railroad
freight agent at Palatine Bridge
In the year just mentioned Mr. Pullman entered
train on the Lake Shore road at I,un,io at
evenings. and found "A new sleeping car attached
thereto. After a hasty inspection he decided
to make use Of the facilities offered This was
his first experience Of the kind But il 90
strongly impressed him with the INADEQUATE vov
IN which travellers requirements by night
were prov, ided for that he Immediately resolved
to undertake a reform
The two day coaches Of The Chicago and Allan
road which he was permitted to remodel IN
1893, doubtless were a tri1c more comfnr, hln
man The sleeper OF earlier day: but they
were OF the old style. And a combination OF
causes prevented any further progress FOR five
years. Ii is worthy Of note that one f The
hrst Passengers 10 try these first slecpars OF
MI. fuiimans manufacture was Abraham Lin
coin Returning TO Chicago from certain min
Ing enterprises which had distracted his atten-
ton, Mr.. Pullman again took up the subject I'm
1864, nearly thirty years after berths had first
been used in American railway cars.
The Pioneer. which was put In operation
very early In 1861. introduced new era Not
only II much higher and broader than other
railway coaches. but il possessed the two cs-
ecntal characteristics Of the modern sleeping
car the folding upper berth and the sliding
seats. Which could be Opcncd on INFO a com n.