Beautiful is the first word
that usually comes to mind when
you encounter a Pullman car. The
hand carved wood medallions, the
plush furniture, and the crystal
light fixtures are just some of the
many lavish features in the car's
interior that will transport any
rider to a time of refinement. The
Pullman car remains one of the
classiest forms of long distance
travel that history has ever seen.
Before the invention of the
locomotive, traveling was arduous;
horse pulled carriages were one of
the chief modes of transportation.
As one could image the days were
long and the nights were harsh
when you were confined to a small
carriage. The amount of land
traveled was all in reliance on the
horses’ physical ability. During the
Colonial Era many
“Before the
invention
of the
locomotive,
traveling
was
arduous…”
American settlers lived in close proximity
to bodies of water in order to take
advantage of the water transportation.
Goods were moved around with the use of
a mule or packhorse.
The nineteenth-Century transpiration
introduced the use of turnpikes and canals.
That all soon changed when trains
revolutionized long distance travel. Both
Turnpikes and canals attempted to create a
“unified coast-to-coast transportation network”
(Rubenstein ) but the railroad is what
accomplished that feat.
In 1830 The Baltimore and Ohio were the
first railroads to be built in the United States. The
rail was named this because Ohio and Baltimore
were now linked together by 13 miles of track.
(Rubenstein) In the five years that followed, there
was enormous growth in the railroad popularity;
the Baltimore and Ohio had a total 135 miles of
track in 1835. (Rubenstein)
Throughout the 19th century, the
amount of mileage or rail track was rapidly
growing. It wasn’t long until the first
transcontinental railroad would be open to the
public. This opened up the new prospect of long
distance travel by train, but train cars were not
outfitted to serve the needs of passengers who
would be staying on the train for several days.
That all changed with a man named
George Pullman, who was an engineer and
designed the setup of the sleeping car. Pullman
designed the space of the sleeping car to be
changed, altered and transformed to fit the needs
of the passenger. Seating areas can be turned into
comfortable bunks and curtains allowed provide
privacy.
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