The invention of the folding upper berth combination by Mr. Pullman was the first of many contributions by himself, and in later years by the Pullman Company and those associated with it, to the development of railway travel. Sleeping cars for a number of years had given night accommodations to travelers; there was nothing new in the idea that a night journey required sleeping accommodations. But in the new and radical berth construction devised by Mr. Pullman lay the difference between impracticability and practicability—between discomfort and luxury.

The earliest sleeping cars were mere bunk cars in which the male passengers might recline during the night hours. Later, bedding was furnished, but the necessity of storing it by day in a closet at the end of the cars created a situation in which order and cleanliness were far from practicable. By the Pullman invention, however, all this was changed. A type of car was developed that was not only comfortable and convenient for day travel, but one that might be quickly transformed into a comfortable sleeping apartment. Furthermore, the new upper berth construction made it possible to pack away by day the entire bedding, mattresses, curtains, and partitions necessary to convert each section into a double sleeping apartment.

With this simple mechanical innovation the inventor combined an idea characterized by a breadth of vision that ranks with the great ideas of the century. In few words, he conceived the thought that it would be possible at one stroke to supplant the inadequate and inefficient service of the day with a new service so complete in its comforts and conveniences that no one might express a wish that the service might be unable to fulfill.

It is interesting, in passing, to consider the fact that up to the development of the Pullman car, night trains were patronized exclusively by men, for no woman would have considered subjecting herself to the inconvenience and lack of privacy of the ordinary sleeping car. The development of the Pullman car and Pullman service made continuous day and night travel practical for women and children; it created the comforts and privacies they naturally required. To be sure it was several years before the new order of things received general recognition, but the public quickly caught on. "Travel by Pullman" soon became a popular diversion.

The story of the early years of the Pullman sleeping car has been told in the foregoing chapters. Due in large measure to the comfort and convenience of the cars, continuous travel lengthened, and at once arose the necessity for eating as well as sleeping accommodations on the through long-distance trains.

For a number of years foreign travelers in America had praised the elaborate restaurant service afforded by certain station eating-houses. Towns developed keen rivalry in respect to the meals provided by their station "counters," and the station restaurants of certain towns developed among constant travelers a reputation for unusual culinary excellence. Our fathers will doubtless recall the glorious fame of dining rooms at Poughkeepsie, Springfield, and Altoona, and of certain dishes that enjoyed nation-wide reputation and might be had only at this or that particular station restaurant. But, on the other hand, the uninviting, indigestible nature of the so-called refreshment offered at some railway eating stations had long been a byword. In most sections of the country it was practically impossible to procure a respectable meal or lunch while traveling. Railway officials had wrestled with the subject in vain. Recognizing the fact that the heart of the railway traveler is most susceptible to influences reaching it by way of his stomach, they made repeated and continued endeavors to improve the fare offered during the "twenty minutes for dinner" stops. With a few exceptions the results were not encouraging, and the traveling public continued its dyspeptic round three times a day.

The station eating-house was on an unsound basis, and its disadvantages were obvious. With the increase of the speed of through trains and the demand for shorter running times between terminals it became quickly apparent that a train could not be stopped three times a day to permit the passengers to gorge a hasty meal at the station restaurant. Three meals at a minimum of twenty minutes each was an hour lost, and twenty minutes for eating was as bad for the passenger as it was for the running time of the trains. There were still other disadvantages. In addition to the delay of the train and the tax on the passenger's digestion, there was the frequent discomfort of wet or wintry weather. On a fine day it was well enough to "stretch one's legs," but in rain or snow the tri-daily evacuation of the car was a decidedly unpopular feature.

The installation of "hotel-car" service by the Pullman Company sang the knell of the station eating-counter. The "President," a car combining sleeping and eating accommodations, was put in service in 1867 on the Grand Trunk Railway, then the Great Western of Canada. Its instant success necessitated the building of the "Kalamazoo" and "Western World," and in the years immediately following many hotel cars were put in service.

The second step in the evolution was inevitable. At best, the hotel car was only a sleeping car with restaurant accommodations. Eating and sleeping have never been associated in the modern mind; there must be a separate place for each.

To meet the demand, or rather to anticipate a demand which his keen eyes foresaw, Mr. Pullman set himself to the task of developing a car which would be only a dining car, serving no other purpose, and practical for operation in conjunction with through trains of the fastest speed. The first real dining car which Mr. Pullman constructed was aptly named the "Delmonico." It was a complete restaurant with a large kitchen and pantries at one end. The main body of the car was fitted up as a dining room in which the passengers from all the cars of the train could enter and take their meals with entire comfort. The "Delmonico" was put in regular service in 1868 on the Chicago & Alton, and other Pullman diners were added the same year. At about the same time the Michigan Central and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroads also began to operate dining cars on their trains. To the Chicago & Alton, however, belongs the honor of having first inaugurated the dining-car system. The Michigan Central and Burlington did not put on dining cars until 1875. The Chicago & Alton dining cars were run between Chicago and St. Louis, and were constructed and managed by Mr. Pullman. The price for a meal was $1.00. Later the Alton acquired an interest in the dining cars, and finally assumed full control of them.

Although founded and developed, and for a number of years successfully operated by the Pullman Company, the dining car is no longer under its management. Due primarily to the vast increase in this particular share of the business and the variety of service required by travelers in different sections of the country, it became advisable to turn over to the various roads the details of catering to their particular patrons. On some of the leading railroads the highest type of dining-car service is maintained and advertised as a particular feature. On other roads of lesser prominence a corresponding degree of service may be found. It is, perhaps, unfortunate from the point of view of the traveler that the Pullman Company found it necessary to discontinue a service that it had so auspiciously inaugurated.

The installation of dining-car service immediately drew attention to a serious defect in railway train construction that had previously escaped notice, a defect which was the more apparent in comparison with the relatively high development of other features of train construction. By the adoption of the dining car it became necessary for the passengers to pass from car to car across the platform while the train was in motion, and often during a condition of rain and snow which added discomfort to actual danger. Where the crossing of platforms while the train was in motion had formerly been prohibited, the railroads were now forced to encourage passengers to subject themselves to this dangerous procedure in order that they might avail themselves of the convenience of the dining cars.

Attempts had been made at different times to provide a safe and covered passageway between the cars, especially on fast express trains, but nothing of a practical nature had resulted. In 1852 and 1855 patents were taken out for canvas devices to connect adjoining cars and create a passage way between them. These appliances were installed in 1857 on a train on the Naugatuck Railroad, in Connecticut, but soon proved to be of little practical use and were abandoned several years later.

But in 1886 Mr. Pullman, realizing the handicap of existing conditions to the full enjoyment of the various types of cars which he had established, set himself to the solving of the problem by devising a perfect system for constructing continuous trains and at the same time providing sufficient flexibility in the connecting passage ways to allow for the motion of the train, particularly when rounding curves. The result of his efforts combined with those of his associates was the complete solution of the problem and the establishment of the "vestibule" train, practically as it exists today. The vestibule patent was granted to Mr. H. H. Sessions, of the Pullman Company, and covered many important features, and particularly the arrangement of the springs which kept the cars in line in a vertical plane.

The vestibule was patented in 1887. By its application the appearance of the train as a unit was materially increased, but of far greater importance was the contribution which it made to safety. Not only did the enclosed vestibule afford protection to passengers crossing the platform from one car to another, but the entire vestibule construction immediately gave greater safety in case of wreck by preventing one platform from "riding" the other and producing a telescoping of the cars.

The vestibule as designed and patented did not extend to the full width of the car. It consisted of elastic diaphragms on steel frames attached to the ends of the cars, the faces of the diaphragms when the train was made up, pressing firmly against each other by powerful spiral springs which held them in position. A further advantage of the vestibule was the almost entire elimination of the oscillation of the cars.

The first vestibuled trains were put in service in April, 1887, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, and in a few years were adopted by every railroad using Pullman equipment. In 1893 the vestibule was redesigned to enclose the entire platform by means of a drop which lowered over the stair openings, thus increasing the roominess of the car and utilizing every inch of possible space.

In the Railway Review of April 16, 1887, occurs an interesting description of the first "solid-vestibuled" train. For a number of months following, this radical innovation was widely recognized by the press throughout the country, and Pullman vestibuled cars were advertised by the railroads on which they were operated. We quote in part from the article in the Railway Review:

This week there was turned out of the Pullman works, at Pullman, Ill., a train of three sleepers, one dining car, and one combination baggage and smoker, that for perfection, in detail of manufacture and ornament, and in completeness of comfort and luxury, is unquestionably far ahead of any train ever before made up. This train was on public exhibition for a few days at Chicago, and on Friday was taken on its christening trip, over a short run on the Illinois Central Railroad. The train is intended for "Limited" service on the Pennsylvania system.

The trial trip was a success in every way. The train went to Otto, a short distance south of Kankakee, sixty miles from Chicago. There it was reversed on a Y, and an opportunity afforded of witnessing its operation on a sharp curve. The action of the flexible connection of the vestibules was perfect. On the return trip the train was run at a high rate of speed, and it was evident that the cars were held very firmly together, by the springs at the top of the vestibules, and that there was much less jarring and swaying than is usual even on a very level track.

The list of business men and railroad managers who made up the party indicates the importance of the occasion. It included:

• George M. Pullman
• G. F. Brown
• T. H. Wickes
• C. H. Chappell
• J. J. Janes
• Orson Smith
• O. W. Potter
• W. T. Baker
• H. R. Hobart
• A. N. Eddy
• Jesse Spalding
• Frederick Broughton
• W. P. Nixon
• John M. Clark
• A. C. Bartlett
• J. W. Hambleton
• E. L. Brewster
• Henry S. Boutell
• D. B. Fiske
• Willard A. Smith
• Stephen F. Gale
• Edson Keith
• O. S. A. Sprague
• A. B. Pullman
• J. T. Lester
• H. J. MacFarland
• S. W. Doane
• Murray Nelson
• A. H. Burley
• C. K. Offield
• E. T. Jeffery
• Prof. Swing
• W. K. Sullivan
• W. K. Ackerman
• A. C. Thomas
• J. McGregor Adams
• J. F. Studebaker
• P. E. Studebaker
• T. B. Blackstone
• Rev. S. J. McPherson
• C. S. Tuckerman
• A. A. Sprague
• P. L. Yoe
• A. F. Seeberger
• D. S. Wegg
• F. N. Finney

During the days in which the train was exhibited at Van Buren street, Chicago, it was visited by approximately 20,000 people. The article continues:

This fact shows that the public has a deep interest in improvements in traveling conveniences. We do not remember that any previous invention or improvement has ever excited such general public interest. Mr. Pullman has again struck the popular chord.

The first vestibule train to the land of the Aztecs, the "Montezuma Special," was naturally of Pullman construction, and began regular tri-monthly trips from New Orleans to the City of Mexico and return, via the Southern Pacific, Mexican International, and Mexican Central Railway, on February 7, 1889. Four magnificent cars, electrically lighted, comprised the train. The initial trip of 1,835 miles was made in about seventy-one hours, and on its arrival in the City of Mexico a banquet was given to President Diaz and his cabinet to signalize the advent of the first international vestibule train into the capital of Mexico. The lighting of railway cars shows an interesting evolution. Undoubtedly candles were used at the earliest period, but the use of oil dates back beyond the birthday of the Pullman car. Oil lamps, at best, were a poor substitute for the light of day. Casting a dim, yellow light, flickering in every draught, smelling and smoking when not properly cared for, and vitiating the car atmosphere, it was small wonder that the public showed prompt appreciation of the first substitute that was provided.

The brilliant Pintsch light, which for a number of years had had wide use in Europe, was first introduced into America by the Pullman Company on the crack Erie train in the through New York-Chicago service in 1883. The gas used for these lights was of high candle power and was manufactured from petroleum. As a car illuminant it has held its own almost to the present day.

It is impossible to exaggerate the part played by the Pullman Company in the development of electric lighting of cars. Without its inspired initiative and its vast resources for practical and costly experiment it is fair to believe that electricity would not have been successfully utilized for this purpose for many years. The Railroad Gazette of January 25, 1889, expresses this thought:

Without extended experiments we can scarcely hope to develop a good system of electric lighting for railroad service. Such experiments are rather expensive, and it is only by the co-operation of liberal-minded managers that anything like a perfect system can be expected in a reasonable time. The Pullman Company has great confidence in the success of electric lighting, and therefore, in spite of the annoyance and expense of the present system, expresses a determination to use it, expecting that something better will result in the near future from the extended experience now being obtained.

Although the incandescent electric lamp was introduced by Edison in 1879, following by two years the introduction by Brush of the arc lamp, it was on an English railway in an American Pullman car supplied with electricity by French accumulator cells that the electric light on October 14, 1881, barely fifty years from the first suggestion of the iron horse by Stephenson, cast its brilliant light for the first time in a railway carriage.

The trial was made in a Pullman car, forming part of a special train on the Brighton Railway. A number of officials of the road, a representative of the Pullman Company, and Mr. F. A. Pincaffs and Mr. Lachlan of the Faure Accumulator Company composed the party, and at 3:25 the train pulled out of the Victoria Station for Brighton.

Only a few months before, Mr. Faure had sent to Sir William Thomson his little box of lead plates coated with red oxide and fully charged with electricity. The great physicist saw at once its possibilities, and in a relatively short time inventors were developing countless applications of the new wonder. Its application to car lighting was an important test.

The Pullman car on which this first experiment was made, carried beneath it on a shelf some thirty-two small metal boxes or cells, each containing lead plates coated with oxide. Stored in these cells was the power to light the car. It was nothing more than the most elementary storage battery, a far cry from the compact batteries of today and the massive generator swung beneath the floor of the modern car.

All the previous night a steam engine had created power to charge the cells. In the roof of the car were twelve small Edison incandescent lights with bamboo filaments. The light was uneven; it was "garish," but at the turn of a switch its rays filled the car. With pardonable enthusiasm the London Times stated that "the car on the return journey in the evening was kept lighted the whole of the distance from Brighton to Victoria."

It is interesting to read in the London Daily Telegraph of October 15, 1885, the following mention of this important event:

Yesterday's trial was understood to have special reference, however, to a new train, wholly composed of Pullman cars, which it is proposed shortly to put on the service between Victoria and Brighton, and should the experiment be deemed fully satisfactory it is probable that the new train will from the first be fitted with the electric light. So far as the travelers were concerned the result was eminently successful. It would scarcely be possible to conceive a steadier, more equable, or more agreeable light. On the down journey the first trial was made in the Merstham tunnel, and then in the Balcombe and Clayton tunnels. All that was needed was to move the little switch, and instantaneously the delicate carbon thread enclosed in the lamps was aglow with pure white light. The return journey was made in the night, and the electric lamps were alight during the whole distance. There had been some question whether the supply would prove sufficient, as owing to stoppages the special had taken a somewhat longer time than had been allowed for; the event, however, showed that the storage had been ample. It would be possible to generate electricity by the energy of the moving train itself, and this has indeed been suggested to be done. By this means enough energy could be supplied to the incandescent lamps, but in any case the accumulator would be necessary to act as a reservoir when the train was not in motion. It possesses, however, another advantage equally important. Experience shows that a current of absolutely uniform strength supplying an even and constant light can only be derived from stored electricity. The oxide of lead which covers the plates not only prevents leakage, but enables the supply to be withdrawn with perfect regularity, and renders sub-division easy. Yesterday the smoke room and lavatory of the car were lighted, and occasionally the lights were turned off without in any way interfering with the other lamps in the same circuit. Before the train started on the return journey the brightly illuminated carriage was an object of interest to many members of the Iron and Steel Institute who visited Brighton and Newhaven yesterday. With regard to expense, it is claimed for the accumulator and the incandescent lamps that the expenditure would be decidedly less than on oil, while, as to the comparative value of the two there is no room for difference of opinion. It was the general feeling of all who took part in the excursion that the question of the electric lighting of trains had been solved, and that to the Brighton Company, whatever may be the immediate results of the experiment, would belong the honour of taking the first decisive and practical step in the way of reform.

Four months later a correspondent of a Sheffield, England, paper, writing from London to the Railway Review of the recent trial of electric lights on the Pullman train of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway, says:

There is no doubt whatever on the point that this, apart from the question of cost, is a decided success. It is easily manageable, and diffuses through the train a pleasant, equable light, scarcely less agreeable than daylight. It is turned on and off with instantaneous effect as the train enters and leaves a tunnel, and of course is kept burning the whole of the time during the night journeys. The electricity is stored in a number of lead plates, which are kept in water in iron boxes in the guard's van. There are two lots, one at either end of the train, and two mechanics in charge of them. This discovery of the ability to store electricity for application to lighting purposes seems to carry the discovery farther than anything since it was first introduced. It gets over many difficulties which seemed insuperable—especially the important one of the great waste of power which is illustrated every night at the Savoy Theatre—and would be applicable to the introduction of electricity for household use.

At the Savoy, when the exigencies of the play require that the lights should be turned down in the auditorium, there is no cessation of the enormous power required to produce the full effect. What happens is that by a mechanical contrivance, the electricity is carried off from the light and goes to waste. With this system of storing, electricity can be used just like gas, as much or as little as people chance to want. Another great advantage is the freedom from jumping, inseparable from the action of the driving power of the steam engine, or of the motion power of water. The lights of the Brighton train burn just as steadily as gas, an effect not in any way obtained where the light is maintained directly by the driving power of steam.

But after all, the question of gas vs. electricity will resolve itself into one of cost, and it is here where gas will inevitably hold its own. The fundamental principle of the electric light is that for a given exertion of power you obtain a given proportion of light, neither more nor less. For every hour it is burning there will be required a certain exactly-ascertained proportion of revolutions of the steam engine, and therefore, if the whole town is lighted it can be done only at a strictly proportionate expense to the lighting of a single house. As to what that expense will be, as compared with gas, the Brighton train would, if we had an idea of the actual figures, afford a precise means of information. I met on the train a well-known gas engineer, attracted, like myself, by the novelty of the experiment. What the electric light cost he was not able to say, but when we take into account the capital sunk in plant, involving a steam engine with the necessary buildings, consumption of coal and necessary employment of skilled labor, it must be something considerable. Against this is the bare fact that the Brighton train could be lighted with gas for the double journey at the cost of 10d. It is a physical impossibility that electricity should ever come anywhere near this, and that probably explains the singular phenomenon that at the time when electricity is making conspicuous advances in public favor, the value of gas shares is not only steadily maintained, but is actually rising in the market.

The steel parts used for interior car finish are all standardized, and are formed by powerful presses