The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-09-14

the work is done quickly and thorough. 1 ". More stress, however, is put upor thoroughness than speed.
 AS soon as a Pullman car is empty ot passengers at the Grand Central Sta tion yard engine shifts it to the
 Melrose cleaning yard. A crew of
 carpet shifters quickly strip it of floor | coverings, which are taken to the car pet cleaning she'd to be swept by com- | pressed air. The air blast comes out of crack in a shovel-like nozzle, and the surface of the carpet gives up a | miniature dust storm.
 | The nature of the next operation de- bends on the condition of the car. If | 1t has come from St. Louis or over some other dusty run the car itself re- ceives compressed air bath. A heavy rubber pipe is run in at one door, and inch by inch the strong blast is directed against the floor, the seats, the walls and the ceiling. Not @ crack or pam el crevice is overlooked; not a speck of dust Is missed It is all driven out of the other door, and the density and size
 of the dust cloud Is surprising. |a If the car Is running to Chicago or
 Buffalo, where the roadbeds are parti-
 cularly we'll kept, the compressed air
 treatment is not necessary every trip.
 In its place beating gang is as-
 signed to clean the car. The beater
 uses a peculiar paddle. with round
 blade made of stiff wire covered with
 rawhide, The handle is of rattan and covered with strips of leather. The
 "beaters" go at the cushioned seats as
 if they were playing a drum and every
 cushion gets a regular tune. They pay
 as much attention to time as though
 they were making real music, and
 "beaters' of experience can play
 several tunes. They say that 1t
 lightens the work to perform it in
 tuneful way.
 Men with stiff brooms follow the
 "beaters," and are in turn follow ed by "dusters." A man with
 whisk broom brings up the rear, After the dust has settled, the
 "touchers up' go to work on the
 windows and metal work. The latter is thoroughly rubbed and polished after each trip. Then comes the berth front man." who does nothing but polish the woodwork until 1t shines like a mirror The carpets. already cleaned by com pressed air are put in place. Then there is procession of men, women and boys, each with a seperate task. There are lampmen, who test the gas lights or try the electric globes, if the car happens to be in the limited" services; overhead cleaners who get at the ventilators boys who adjust clean headrests, an upholsterer who looks for rents in the cushions, and an in spector, whose eye Is keen for the de- lection of negligence in the work of those who went before. In all, twenty five men and women do more or less work on the interior of every car before the cleaning process Is ended.
 In the mean time, other gangs have been at work on the exterior of the car. There is the "modoc crew. which polishes the exterior woodwork with a soapy preparation free from acid If the ''modoc" bath was not applied regularly the glossy surface would soon disappear. Cars used on fast trains are the hardest to keep in shape. The air pick up large and small stones and frequently throw them against the sides of the car with sufficient force to make deep dents. Other men carefully test every part of the running gear,
 When a sick person is carried in a Pullman coach two reports are made Q the cleaning department. One comes rom the Pullman conductor and the other from the porter in charge of the ,ar No matter what the disease, the ,ar is thoroughly fumigated. Sheets | which have been sprayed with for are hung in the car. The | ,erths are lowered and all windows | iosed. The fumes find their way into | very part of the car, which means sure leath to germs of every sort, as was at a recent test by off, CTS of the Board of Health.
 We keep a particularly close watch or 'lungers, said the man in charge f a Immigration crew. Cars which re used on the mountain runs, fre- Iuented by invalids, get germ-killlng lose whether we have report on hem or not
 The linen department of the Pullman leaning yard employs number of nen and women and keeps a steam aundry busy. No piece of linen is yer, used twice on any of the cars being cleaned. This means he use of 16OOO or 17,o0o pieces every l hours
 In the winter months sixty-two cars
 day Is the average output of the leaning yard. As many as 115 have cen turned out on rush days The M figures that it takes the full ime of two men thoroughly to clean
 sleeping car, and the time of man nd a half for a chair car.-New York