This booklet from General Electric grandly proclaims that the world’s first steam-turbine electric locomotive was the “king of the rails.” Like other kings of the 1930s, this one didn’t last very long: Union Pacific used it for less than three … Continue reading
Pullman developed the roomette in 1937, but by 1950, when it issued this brochure, most rail travelers had not yet used one since they were only on streamlined trains. Roomettes used the same amount of floor space as a section, … Continue reading
Pullman Facts No. 4 notes that construction of a Pullman passenger car in 1930 required 50 to 60 days, depending on the kind of car. Assembly line methods clearly had not taken hold in the railcar industry. The booklet also … Continue reading
How did the United States, supposedly the land of free enterprise, ever come to have a government-owned passenger railroad? The answer takes us back at least to 1956, when the Interstate Commerce Commission asked its staff to write a report … Continue reading
This timetable-sized booklet presents a full array of Pullman accommodations in the 1950s. These include the section, single bedroom, duplex single bedroom, roomette, duplex roomette, double bedroom, compartment, and drawing room. The booklet even distinguishes between roomettes whose mattresses were … Continue reading
The passenger rail world was rapidly changing when Pullman issued this booklet in 1938. Railroads were buying more comfortable coaches, so budget-minded overnight passengers were more likely to sleep in reclining chairs than expensive Pullman cars. The remaining sleeping-car passengers … Continue reading
This booklet describes the types of sleeping-car spaces available to passengers in the heavyweight era. Just six types are described: the low-cost upper; the slightly more comfortable lower; the section, in which someone bought both the upper and lower for … Continue reading
The second year of Chicago’s Century of Progress Exposition also happened to be the 75th anniversary of Pullman’s first sleeping car, so it issued this booklet praising its new aluminum passenger cars. The silver cover is supposed to remind people … Continue reading
Despite the title, this booklet says almost nothing about the educational value of travel. Instead, it focuses on the huge improvements in comfort and speed provided by the railroads in general and Pullman in particular in the previous 70 years. … Continue reading
Previously, I somewhat snidely mentioned that there were no Pullman Facts booklets about how the company managed to become a monopoly. But in fact the answer is hidden in Pullman Facts No. 10, which shows that Pullman provided a large … Continue reading
